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Aortic Valve and Ascending Aorta Guidelines for Management and Quality
Measures
Lars G. Svensson, David H. Adams, Robert O. Bonow, Nicholas T. Kouchoukos, D.
Craig Miller, Patrick T. O'Gara, David M. Shahian, Hartzell V. Schaff, Cary W. Akins,
Joseph E. Bavaria, Eugene H. Blackstone, Tirone E. David, Nimesh D. Desai, Todd M.
Dewey, Richard S. D'Agostino, Thomas G. Gleason, Katherine B. Harrington, Susheel
Kodali, Samir Kapadia, Martin B. Leon, Brian Lima, Bruce W. Lytle, Michael J. Mack,
Michael Reardon, T. Brett Reece, G. Russell Reiss, Eric E. Roselli, Craig R. Smith,
Vinod H. Thourani, E. Murat Tuzcu, John Webb and Mathew R. Williams
Ann Thorac Surg 2013;95:1-66
DOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2013.01.083
The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is
located on the World Wide Web at:
http://ats.ctsnetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/95/6_Supplement/S1
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery is the official journal of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the
Southern Thoracic Surgical Association. Copyright © 2013 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
Print ISSN: 0003-4975; eISSN: 1552-6259.
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SPECIAL REPORT
Aortic Valve and Ascending Aorta Guidelines
for Management and Quality Measures
Writing Committee Members: Lars G. Svensson, MD, PhD (Chair),
David H. Adams, MD (Vice-Chair), Robert O. Bonow, MD (Vice-Chair),
Nicholas T. Kouchoukos, MD (Vice-Chair), D. Craig Miller, MD (Vice-Chair),
Patrick T. O’Gara, MD (Vice-Chair), David M. Shahian, MD (Vice-Chair),
Hartzell V. Schaff, MD (Vice-Chair), Cary W. Akins, MD, Joseph E. Bavaria, MD,
Eugene H. Blackstone, MD, Tirone E. David, MD, Nimesh D. Desai, MD, PhD,
Todd M. Dewey, MD, Richard S. D’Agostino, MD, Thomas G. Gleason, MD,
Katherine B. Harrington, MD, Susheel Kodali, MD, Samir Kapadia, MD,
Martin B. Leon, MD, Brian Lima, MD, Bruce W. Lytle, MD, Michael J. Mack, MD,
Michael Reardon, MD, T. Brett Reece, MD, G. Russell Reiss, MD, Eric E. Roselli, MD,
Craig R. Smith, MD, Vinod H. Thourani, MD, E. Murat Tuzcu, MD, John Webb, MD,
and Mathew R. Williams, MD
Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio; Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York; Northwestern University Medical School,
Chicago, Illinois; Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Inc, St. Louis, Missouri; Falk Cardiovascular Research Center, Palo Alto,
California; Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Mayo
Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Toronto General Hospital,
Toronto, Ontario; Technology Institute, Dallas, Texas; Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Burlington, Massachusetts; University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California; New York–Presbyterian
Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York; Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York;
Baylor Health Care System, Dallas, Texas; Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas; University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado; Dean Health
System, Madison, Wisconsin; Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; and St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, British
Columbia
1. Introduction and Methodology
T
he question may be asked why another Guideline
manuscript is needed. The reasons are ﬁvefold: (1) to
outline pros and cons of treatment options; (2) to outline
areas where further research is needed, potentially from
updated Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) data collection variables as there are few randomized trials that give
more absolute answers to questions; (3) to provide technical guidelines for aortic valve and aortic surgery; (4) to
provide background for recommended quality measures
and suggest quality measures; and (5) to present the new
STS valve data collection variables that address issues
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Clinical Practice Guidelines are intended to assist physicians and other health care providers in clinical decision
making by describing a range of generally acceptable approaches for the
diagnosis, management, or prevention of speciﬁc diseases or conditions.
These guidelines should not be considered inclusive of all proper methods
of care or exclusive of other methods of care reasonably directed at
obtaining the same results. Moreover, these guidelines are subject to
change over time, without notice. The ultimate judgment regarding the
care of a particular patient must be made by the physician in light of the
individual circumstances presented by the patient.
For the full text of this and other STS Practice Guidelines, visit http://
www.sts.org/resources-publications on the ofﬁcial STS Web site (www.
sts.org).
Address correspondence to Dr Svensson, The Cleveland Clinic, 9500
Euclid Ave, Desk F-25 CT Surgery, Cleveland, OH 44195.
Ó 2013 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Published by Elsevier Inc
related to the preoperative testing and technical aspects
of aortic valve surgery (Appendix 1).
The evaluation of aortic valve procedures suffers from
a dearth of prospective randomized trials that have
shown deﬁnitive superiority of one procedure over
others, although this has been attempted (eg, mechanical
versus biological valves, and homografts versus Ross
procedure, etc) [2–18]. Indeed, when valve devices are
compared for survival (homograft, biological valves,
mechanical valves or Ross procedure) and the only
adjustment made is for age, there is no difference at all in
late survival and thus the debate revolves more around
valve durability and anticoagulation [14] (Figs 1 to 3).
Hence, the guidelines rely primarily on nonrandomized
trials, observational studies, registries, propensity analyses, and consensus statements of experts. Clearly, these
may require revision over time, particularly related to the
new transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
procedures. The application of class of recommendation
and level of evidence characterization is according to those
recommended by ACCF/AHA (Table 1).
The guidelines address only the adult population and
not the pediatric population. When needed, the guidelines draw heavily from the previously published 2010
For authors’ disclosure of industry relationships, see
Appendix 2.
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SVENSSON ET AL
AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66
Abbreviations and Acronyms
ABP
ACE
AR
AS
AVA
AVR
BAV
BSA
CABG
CAD
CT
DLCO
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
ECG
EF
EOA
FDA
HCA
IMH
INR
IVUS
LV
MRI
PFT
PPM
PROM
RBP
RVOT
SVD
TAVR
TEE
TTE
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
antegrade brain perfusion
angiotensin-converting enzyme
aortic regurgitation
aortic stenosis
aortic valve area
aortic valve replacement
balloon aortic valvuloplasty
body surface area
coronary artery bypass graft
coronary artery disease
computed tomography
diffusing capacity of lung for carbon
monoxide
electrocardiogram
ejection fraction
effective oriﬁce area
Food and Drug Administration
hypothermic circulatory arrest
intramural hematoma
international normalized ratio
intravascular ultrasound
left ventricular
magnetic resonance imaging
pulmonary function test
patient-prosthetic mismatch
preoperative risk of mortality
retrograde brain perfusion
right ventricular outﬂow tract
structural valve deterioration
transcatheter aortic valve replacement
transesophageal echocardiogram
transthoracic echocardiogram
Fig 1. Options for minimally invasive J incision.
ACCF/AHA/AATS/ACR/ASA/SCA/SCAI/SIR/STS/SVM
guideline for the diagnosis and management of patients
with thoracic aortic disease. Hence, indications for
surgery are not covered in detail, except where new
evidence suggests an update is needed. The previous
guidelines for severity of disease and the management
of outcomes for patients with asymptomatic disease are
summarized and covered in detail in the 2010 document [1, 19, 20]. For cardiologists and cardiac surgeons,
there have been few options and no guidelines on how
to manage the high risk, previously inoperable,
patients. The TAVR technology and particularly the
pivotal Placement of Aortic Transcatheter (PARTNER)
trials and the ongoing CoreValve trial have further
focused efforts on managing this population. Previous
studies have suggested that between 38% of patients
(Europe) and two thirds of patients (southern California) with severe aortic valve stenosis go untreated
[21, 22]. With the advent of TAVR both the traditionally
open aortic valve replacement (AVR) procedures and
balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) have also pari passu
evolved. Hence, these aspects are discussed. The ﬁeld is
rapidly developing, and undoubtedly later guidelines
will need to update recommendations based on new
iterations.
Literature searches were conducted using standardized MeSH terms from the National Library of Medicine
PUBMED database list of search terms. Section authors
then drafted their recommendations, using prior published guidelines as a reference when available, and
circulated to the entire writing committee as drafts.
Revisions were made until consensus was reached on
class, level of evidence, references, and language.
Finally, the full document was submitted for approval
by the STS Workforce on Evidence Based Surgery
before publication. The guidelines were posted on the
STS website for an open comment period. The guidelines then were also submitted to the STS Council on
Quality, Research, and Patient Safety Operating Board
and the STS Executive Committee before submission for
publication.
1.1. Evaluation of a Valve Procedure
Paramount to evaluating a valve procedure is (1) ease
of procedure; (2) safety; (3) efﬁcacy (hemodynamic
performance, effective oriﬁce area, and energy loss); (4)
durability, measured as freedom from structural valve
deterioration; and (5) event-free survival.
For aortic valves this would entail (1) ease of prosthetic
aortic valve insertion or valve repair; (2) safety of the
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AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
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Fig 2. (A) Relationship of late survival to years after aortic valve
insertion in 13,258 patients, divided by aortic valve prosthesis.
(B) Survival by age.
operation; (3) effective oriﬁce area (EOA) including
gradients and energy loss; and (4) long-term durability,
with no difference in survival compared with other
devices, but better than the untreated population.
Clearly, there are few, if any medical procedures that are
as effective in relieving symptoms, improving quality of life,
and also increasing long-term survival as much as AVR for
aortic stenosis (AS) or aortic regurgitation (AR), but for
perhaps the exception of heart transplantation, but the latter
adds the problem of managing new medications and
increased monitoring. Recent data from 3,600 Medicare
patients show that there is a reduced hospital readmission
rate and increased survival among high-risk Medicare
patients (aged 65 years) treated with AVR for severe AS,
despite the extra cost. Of note, open AVR does not reduce
the cost when compared with medical management despite
the multiple readmissions for heart failure in the latter.
The potential population needing AVR for severe AS is
estimated at 350,000 and increasing. The exact number of
aortic valve procedures, including repairs and replacements, is unknown. A number of 48,000 has been reported
[23]; however, a number of 95,000 Medicare patients was
reported in a recent publication [24] (Tables 2 and 3).
Table 2 shows the number of valves sold to hospitals for
one year (92,514). The STS Adult Cardiac Surgery
Database (ACSD) does not capture the number as only
patients who undergo single valve or valve plus coronary
bypass are tracked. Double valve, AVR plus aorta, and so
forth, are not tracked. Nevertheless, the STS data show
Fig 3. Survival by age groups: (A) younger patients; (B) middle-aged
patients; (C) elderly patients. Note that differences disappear.
AVR is increasing, probably because of the aging
population and increasing awareness of good results, and
the option of TAVR. Despite this, on average an STS site
does 23 isolated aortic valves and on average a cardiac
surgeon only does 8 AVR per annum (Fig 4). Figures 5
through 18 show some important trends.
The new STS valve data 2.73 module adds various variables that members of the writing committee and the STS
Workforce on National Databases considered would be
important information for future studies, and that would
allow for further research to improve both the process of an
aortic valve insertion as well as the procedure quality of
care. Clearly this will raise new questions that will result in
the evolution and iteration of newer guidelines based on
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AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66
Table 1. ACCF/AHA Classiﬁcation of Recommendations and Level of Evidence
*Data available from clinical trials or registries about the usefulness/efﬁcacy in different subpopulations, such as gender, age, history of diabetes, history of
prior myocardial infarction, history of heart failure, and prior aspirin use. A recommendation with Level of Evidence B or C does not imply that the
recommendation is weak. Many important clinical questions addressed in the guidelines do not lend themselves to clinical trials. Even though randomized
trials are not available, there may be a very clear clinical consensus that a particular test or therapy is useful or effective.
yFor comparative effectiveness recommendations (Class I and IIa; Level of Evidence A and B only), studies that support the use of comparator verbs should involve direct
comparisons of the treatments or strategies being evaluated. Reprinted with permission from Ref. 24a [Jacobs AK, et al. Circulation. 2013;127:268–310.
Ó2013 American Heart Association, Inc.]
the data collected by the STS database. Online in
Appendix 1 are the new ﬁelds speciﬁc to valve procedures.
See the comments relevant to speciﬁc ﬁelds referenced. In
this document we have avoided reference to company
names and models as there are 368 models of biological
valves alone that are available for implantation.
2. Summary and Update of ACCF/AHA Guidelines
for Indications and Timing of Surgery
Major advances in the evaluation and management of
patients with valvular heart disease during the past
several decades have resulted in substantial improvement in the outcomes of patients in terms of survival and
quality of life. These advances include the development
of imaging modalities (most notably cardiac ultrasonography) that have yielded essential data on natural history
and the predictors of outcome after operative intervention. At that same time, the steady and signiﬁcant
advances in cardiac surgery have expanded operative
windows to include surgery on both older patients with
severe comorbidities and younger patients earlier in the
natural history of the disease, even those who are
asymptomatic.
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Table 2. Valves Sold in the United States for the Year Ending
June 2011
Valve
Number
Mechanical
All (conduits 11%)
Tissue
All
ATS
Carbomedics
Edwards
Medtronic
St. Jude
Total
Tissue valve costs:
16,780
75,734
216
5,290
39,367
18,688
11,666
92,514
All, $435,716,947.00
These advances, coupled with the growing prevalence
of diseases of heart valves in an aging population and
the impact on quality of life, health care resources and
need for quality improvement, stimulated the ACCF/
AHA Task Force on Practice Guidelines to establish
a writing committee to formulate guidelines for the
management of patients with valvular heart disease. The
ACCF/AHA guidelines for the management of patients
with valvular heart disease were ﬁrst published in
1998 [25], extensively revised in 2006 [20], and updated
in 2008 [19]. The knowledge base summarized in
the guidelines is channeled into a large number of
speciﬁc recommendations supported by the literature
to assist clinicians in their care of patients across the
wide spectrum of valvular heart disease, including
diagnosis, medical management and indications for
surgical intervention. Comparable guidelines from the
European Society of Cardiology have been published
in 2007 [26].
Although the ACCF/AHA guideline recommendations
represent a major step forward in improving and standardizing quality of care, there are fundamental weaknesses in the underpinnings of these guidelines. Unlike
many other areas of cardiovascular disease, such as
secondary prevention, acute coronary syndromes and
heart failure, there is a major scarcity of large-scale
S5
multicenter trials addressing the diagnosis and treatment of patients with valvular disease from which to
derive the deﬁnitive evidence base required for ﬁrm
recommendations. The available data in the literature
represent primarily the experiences reported by single
institutions in relatively small numbers of patients. In the
absence of an authoritative database, management issues
in many situations remain controversial or uncertain.
Thus, virtually all of the recommendations in the
ACCF/AHA document are based on expert consensus
(level of evidence C) rather than on prospective multicenter randomized trials (level of evidence A). In fact, in
the 2006 document, only 1 of 320 recommendations (0.3%)
was based on level of evidence A data [27]. In this context,
it is noteworthy that the consensus-driven recommendations in the ACCF/AHA document are remarkably
similar to those in the European Society of Cardiology
guidelines on the management of valvular heart disease
[26]. This underscores the collective experience that has
accumulated over the past several decades on both
sides of the Atlantic. Nonetheless, implementation of
prospective randomized trials is necessary to move the
ﬁeld forward.
Classiﬁcation of Recommendations
The ACCF/AHA guidelines for the management of
patients with valvular heart disease recommendations
follow the standard format established for other ACCF/
AHA recommendations (Table 1):
Class I: conditions for which there is evidence for
and/or general agreement that the procedure or
treatment is beneﬁcial, useful, and effective
Class II: conditions for which there is conﬂicting
evidence and/or a divergence of opinion about the
usefulness/efﬁcacy of a procedure or treatment
Class IIa: weight of evidence/opinion is in favor of
usefulness/efﬁcacy
Class IIb: usefulness/efﬁcacy is less well established
by evidence/opinion
Class III: conditions for which there is evidence and/
or general agreement that the procedure/treatment
is not useful/effective and in some cases may be
harmful
Table 3. Trends in Hospital Volumes of Medicare Patients and the Proportion of Medicare Patients Who Underwent Aortic Valve
Replacement Operations in High-Volume Hospitals From 1999 through 2008. Note this is for two-year data
Variable Period
AVR
No. of hospitals
No. of patients
Hospital volume
Median
Interquartile range
1999–2000
2001–2002
2003–2004
2005–2006
2007–2008
1,013
74,541
1,064
80,223
1,105
85,556
1,139
87,421
1,161
95,033
53
28–99
54
29–105
57
30–104
53
29–102
60
31–108
Patient number is for 2-year periods. Hospital volume is per year.
AVR ¼ aortic valve replacement.
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Ann Thorac Surg
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Table 4. Valve Academic Research Consortium Criteria for Successful Valve Insertion and Composite Endpoints
Device success
1. Successful vascular access, delivery and deployment of the device, and successful retrieval of the delivery system
2. Correct position of the device in the proper anatomical location
3. Intended performance of the prosthetic heart valve (aortic valve area 1.2 cm2 and mean aortic valve gradient
20 mm Hg or peak velocity 3 m/s, without moderate or severe prosthetic valve aortic regurgitation)
4. Only one valve implanted in the proper anatomical location
Combined safety endpoint (at 30 days)
1. All-cause mortality
2. Major stroke
3. Life-threatening (or disabling) bleeding
4. Acute kidney injury—stage 3 (including renal replacement therapy)
5. Periprocedural myocardial infarction
6. Major vascular complication
7. Repeat procedure for valve-related dysfunction (surgical or interventional therapy)
Combined efﬁcacy endpoint, at 1 year or longer
1. All-cause mortality (after 30 days)
2. Failure of current therapy for aortic stenosis, requiring hospitalization for symptoms of valve-related or cardiac
decompensation
3. Prosthetic heart valve dysfunction (aortic valve area 1.2 cm2 and mean aortic valve gradient 20 mm Hg or peak
velocity 3 m/s, or moderate or severe prosthetic valve aortic regurgitation)
2.1. Indications for Aortic Valve Surgery
Class IIa
2.1.1. AORTIC STENOSIS—RECOMMENDATIONS
1. AVR is reasonable in patients with moderate AS
undergoing CABG or surgery on the aorta or other
heart valves [37–40]. (Level of evidence B)
Class I
1. AVR is recommended in patients with severe AS at
the onset of symptoms of dyspnea, angina, or lightheadedness or syncope (Fig 1) [28–36]. (Level of
evidence B)
2. AVR is recommended, regardless of symptoms, with
the identiﬁcation of left ventricular (LV) systolic
dysfunction (ejection fraction [EF] <50%). (Level of
evidence C)
3. AVR is recommended in patients with severe AS who
are scheduled to undergo coronary artery bypass graft
surgery (CABG), surgery on other cardiac valves, or
surgery on the aortic root or ascending aorta. (Level of
evidence C)
Fig 4. Average annual valve procedures for STS sites (left axis)
and busy practice (right axis) over time. (AVR ¼ aortic valve
replacement; CAB ¼ coronary artery bypass; CCF ¼ Cleveland
Clinic Foundation; MV ¼ mitral valve repair.)
Class IIb
1. Exercise testing in asymptomatic patients with AS to
determine the need for AVR may be considered to elicit
exercise-induced symptoms and abnormal blood
pressure responses [41–43]. (Level of evidence B)
2. AVR may be considered for asymptomatic patients
with severe AS and abnormal response to exercise
(eg, asymptomatic hypotension). (Level of evidence C)
3. AVR may be considered for adults with severe
asymptomatic AS if there is a high likelihood of rapid
progression (age, calciﬁcation, and CAD) or if surgery
might be delayed at the time of symptom onset. (Level
of evidence C)
Fig 5. Coronary artery bypass and percutaneous coronary
intervention volume trends.
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Fig 6. Trends in volume for STS sites and a large center with
increasing valve and thoracic aorta numbers. (AVR ¼ aortic valve
replacement; CAB ¼ coronary artery bypass; CAD ¼ coronary artery
disease; CCF ¼ Cleveland Clinic Foundation; MV ¼ mitral valve;
O/E ¼ observed to expected mortality ratio at CCF.)
4. AVR may be considered in patients undergoing
CABG who have mild AS when there is evidence,
such as moderate to severe valve calciﬁcation, that
progression may be rapid. (Level of evidence C)
5. AVR may be considered for asymptomatic patients
with extremely severe AS (aortic valve area [AVA]
<0.6 cm2, mean gradient >60 mm Hg, and jet velocity
>5.0 m/s) when the patient’s expected operative
mortality is less than 1%. (Level of evidence C)
S7
Fig 8. Predicted trends for transcatheter aortic valve replacement
(TAVR) in the United States.
Additional class IIb indications in the ACCF/AHA
guidelines that may be used to consider AVR include
asymptomatic patients with severe AS in whom there is
a high likelihood of rapid progression (such as severe
valvular calciﬁcation), in whom surgery might be delayed
at the time of symptom onset, or in whom the AS is
extremely severe (AVA <0.6 cm2, mean gradient >60 mm
Hg, and jet velocity >5.0 m/s). However, surgery is
considered reasonable in an asymptomatic patient only in
a center in which the anticipated operative mortality is
1.0% or less [19].
2.1.2. AORTIC REGURGITATION—RECOMMENDATIONS
Class I
Class III
1. AVR is not useful for the prevention of sudden death
in asymptomatic patients with AS who have normal
LV systolic function [44]. (Level of evidence B)
The guideline recommendations for AVR in patients
with AS pertain only to those with severe AS (Fig 19). No
intervention is recommended in patients with mild or
moderate AS unless there are indications for other
forms of cardiac surgery. However, it is understood that
establishing the diagnosis of severe AS is not always
straightforward. For purposes of the guidelines
recommendations, severe AS in patients with normal
LV systolic function is deﬁned as (1) a peak aortic jet
velocity by Doppler echocardiography more than 4 m/s;
(2) a mean aortic valve gradient more than 40 mm Hg;
and (3) a calculated AVA less than 1.0 cm2 or valve area
index less than 0.6 cm2/m2 [20]. Critical aortic valve
stenosis has been deﬁned as less than 0.8 cm2.
Fig 7. Predicted global trends for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
1. AVR or repair is indicated for symptomatic patients
with severe AR irrespective of LV systolic function
(Fig 2) [45–51]. (Level of evidence B)
2. AVR or repair is recommended for asymptomatic
patients with chronic severe AR and LV systolic
dysfunction (EF 50%) at rest [45–61]. (Level of
evidence B)
3. AVR or repair is recommended in patients with
chronic severe AR who are undergoing CABG or
surgery on the aorta or other heart valves. (Level of
evidence C)
Fig 9. Targeted market and likely population of transcatheter aortic
valve replacement (TAVR).
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Fig 10. Trends for in-hospital mortality for coronary artery bypass
graft surgery (CABG) in Pennsylvania. Note the decline. Source:
Cardiac Surgery in Pennsylvania 2008–2009. Used with permission
of PA Health Care Cost Containment Council.
Class IIa
1. AVR or repair is reasonable for asymptomatic patients
with severe AR with normal LV systolic function
(EF >50%) but with severe LV dilation (end-diastolic
dimension >75 mm or end-systolic dimension
>55 mm) [46, 47, 51–55, 57–60, 62]. (Level of evidence B)
Class IIb
1. AVR or repair may be considered in patients with
moderate AR who are undergoing CABG or surgery
on the aorta or other heart valves. (Level of evidence C)
2. AVR or repair may be considered for asymptomatic
patients with severe AR and normal LV systolic
function at rest (EF >50%) when the degree of LV
dilation exceeds an end-diastolic dimension of 70 mm
or end-systolic dimension of 50 mm, when there is
evidence of progressive LV dilation, declining exercise tolerance, or abnormal hemodynamic responses
to exercise. (Level of evidence C)
Ann Thorac Surg
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Fig 11. Trends for in-hospital mortality for valve procedures in
Pennsylvania. Note the decline. Source: Cardiac Surgery in
Pennsylvania 2008–2009. Used with permission of PA Health Care
Cost Containment Council.
a regurgitant fraction more than 60%, and an effective
regurgitant oriﬁce area more than 0.30 cm2 [20, 68]. Severe
AR should also be accompanied by evidence of a volume
load on the left ventricle, with an elevated LV end-diastolic
volume or increased LV end-diastolic diameter. The
management strategies are summarized in Figures 5
through 7.
2.1.3. AORTIC ROOT DISEASE Dilation of the ascending aorta
and/or aortic root is among the most common causes of
isolated AR and in some patients, the severity of aortic
Class III
1. AVR is not indicated for asymptomatic patients with
mild, moderate, or severe AR and normal LV systolic
function at rest (EF >50%) when the degree of LV
dilation is not moderate or severe (Fig 20) [63–67].
(Level of evidence B)
As with AS, surgical intervention in patients with AR is
recommended only for those with severe AR, and there are
no recommendations for surgery in those with mild or
moderate AR unless patients are undergoing other forms of
cardiac surgery. Determining severity of AR, however, is
inherently less precise than assessing AS severity. The
ACCF/AHA guidelines adopted the deﬁnitions of severity
of AR promulgated by the American Society of Echocardiography [68] in an attempt to emphasize the need to use
quantitative rather than simply qualitative, visual
assessments. Severe AR, using Doppler echocardiography
methods, is deﬁned as a vena contracta width more than
0.6 cm, a regurgitant volume greater than 60 mL per beat,
Fig 12. (A) Seven-day readmission after valve surgery (note
increasing trend) for Pennsylvania. (B) Thirty-day readmission after
valve surgery. Source: Cardiac Surgery in Pennsylvania 2008–2009.
Used with permission of PA Health Care Cost Containment Council.
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S9
Fig 13. Readmission costs and Medicare
payments for Pennsylvania. (CABG ¼
coronary artery bypass graft surgery.) Source:
Cardiac Surgery in Pennsylvania 2008–2009.
Used with permission of PA Health Care Cost
Containment Council.
enlargement becomes the principal indication for
surgery. This is particularly the case in patients with
bicuspid aortic valves. The ACCF/AHA guidelines on
valvular heart disease discuss aortic root disease only in
the context of bicuspid aortic valves [20], with emphasis
on obtaining measurements by computed tomography
(CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in addition
to echocardiography. The guidelines also emphasize
that a number of factors must be considered regarding
surgical indications, including the patient’s age, the
relative size of the aorta and aortic root, the structure
and function of the aortic valve, and the experience of
the surgical team.
The guidelines recommend that patients with bicuspid
valves undergo elective repair of the aortic root or
replacement of the ascending aorta if the diameter of
these structures exceeds 5.0 cm (Class I, level of evidence
C) and should be performed by a surgical team with
established expertise in these procedures [69, 70]. Others
have recommended a value of more than 2.5 cm/m2 or
greater as the indication for surgery [71] or a crosssectional area to height ratio of more than 10 [1, 14].
Surgery is also recommended if the rate of increase in
aortic dilation is 0.5 cm per year or more (Class I, level
of evidence C). If patients with bicuspid valves and
associated aortic root enlargement have indications for
AVR because of severe AS or AR, it is recommended
that repair of the aortic root or replacement of the
ascending aorta be performed if the diameter of these
structures is more than 4.5 cm (Class I, level of evidence
C) [72]. Similar indications for aortic surgery in patients
with bicuspid aortic valves were recommended in the
2010 ACCF/AHA guidelines for the diagnosis and
management of patients with thoracic aortic disease [1].
The thoracic aortic disease guidelines also provide
recommendations for surgery in other conditions associated with aortic root disease [1]. Surgery is indicated at
lower size thresholds in patients with certain genetic
syndromes (Class IIa, level of evidence C). Examples
include a threshold of 4.5 cm to 5.0 cm for Marfan
syndrome and 4.2 cm for Loeys-Dietz syndrome or
a conﬁrmed TGFBR1 or TGFBR2 mutation. Speciﬁc Class
IIa (level of evidence C) recommendations are also made
for women with Marfan syndrome contemplating pregnancy, in whom one might consider elective aortic surgery
when the diameter exceeds 4.0 cm, and in patients
with Marfan syndrome in whom the ratio of the maximal
Fig 14. Average number of heart procedures performed by Pennsylvania hospitals (solid line) and surgeons (stippled line). Source:
Cardiac Surgery in Pennsylvania 2008–2009. Used with permission
of PA Health Care Cost Containment Council.
Fig 15. Hospital infections after cardiac surgery in Pennsylvania.
Note the 37% at surgical site. Source: Cardiac Surgery in Pennsylvania 2008–2009. Used with permission of PA Health Care Cost
Containment Council.
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Ann Thorac Surg
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Fig 16. Outcomes after hospital infections,
increase in cost, and estimated Medicare
reimbursement. (CABG ¼ coronary artery
bypass graft surgery; HAI ¼ hospital acquired
infection.) Source: Cardiac Surgery in Pennsylvania 2008–2009. Used with permission of
PA Health Care Cost Containment Council.
cross-sectional area in square centimeters of the ascending
aorta or root to the patient’s height in meters exceeds 10 [1].
In the absence of a bicuspid valve or genetic/familial cause
of aortic enlargement, the threshold recommended for
elective surgery is an aortic diameter of 5.5 cm
for patients with degenerative thoracic aneurysms,
chronic aortic dissections, intramural hematomas (IMH),
penetrating atherosclerotic ulcers, mycotic aneurysms, or
pseudoaneurysms (Class I, level of evidence C) [1].
persistent vegetations despite appropriate antibiotic
therapy. (Level of evidence C)
Class IIb
1. Surgery to prevent embolization might be considered
for patients with large vegetation size (>1.5 cm),
2.1.4. AORTIC VALVE ENDOCARDITIS—RECOMMENDATIONS
Class I
1. AVR is recommended in patients with aortic valve
infective endocarditis and severe heart failure or
cardiogenic shock due to aortic valve dysfunction
when there is a reasonable likelihood of recovery with
satisfactory quality of life after surgery [20, 73–76].
(Level of evidence B)
2. Surgery is recommended in patients with annular or
aortic abscesses, heart block, infections resistant to
antibiotic therapy, and fungal endocarditis [73–77].
(Level of evidence B)
Class IIa
1. Surgery is reasonable in patients with infective
endocarditis who present with recurrent emboli and
Fig 17. Material decline in coronary artery bypass surgery (CAB) by
STS sites from an average of approximately 400 cases per annum.
Fig 18. (A) Survival for 3,624 Medicare patients treated in 2003 for
isolated aortic valve stenosis. The 5% random sample showed 31%
were treated medically, 651 were categorized as high-risk medically
treated. The associated variables in the 651 medically treated highrisk patients were central nervous system or psychiatric disease 53%,
unstable angina 43%, prior surgery 40%, peripheral vascular disease
28%, chronic pulmonary disease 22%, pulmonary hypertension 20%,
and cancer 18%. These variable likely inﬂuenced the decision not to
operate. The curves show the 5-years survivals. (HR ¼ high risk;
MM ¼ medically managed; NHR ¼ not high risk; ST ¼ surgical
treatment.) (B) Cost of care over 5 years for those operated on or
treated in 2003. Costs are Medicare payments for Parts A, B, and
schedule beneﬁciary cost sharing.
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S11
Fig 19. Management strategy for severe aortic
stenosis. Preoperative coronary angiography
should be performed routinely as determined
by age, symptoms, and coronary risk factors.
Cardiac catheterization and angiography may
also be helpful when there is discordance
between clinical ﬁndings and echocardiography. (AVA ¼ aortic valve area; BP ¼ blood
pressure; CABG ¼ coronary artery bypass
graft; LV ¼ left ventricular; Vmax ¼ maximal
velocity across aortic valve by Doppler echocardiography.) Reprinted with permission
from Ref. 19 [Bonow RO, et al. Circulation.
2008;118:e523–e661. Ó2008 American Heart
Association, Inc.]
especially if other relative indications for surgery are
present (eg, severe AR) and the surgical risk is low
[78, 79]. (Level of evidence C)
Surgery should not be delayed in the setting of active
infective endocarditis when heart failure intervenes.
However, surgery is not indicated if complications (severe
embolic brain damage) or comorbid conditions make the
prospect of recovery remote. The indications for surgery
for infective endocarditis in patients with stable hemodynamics are less clear.
3. Preoperative Testing and Assessment of
Comorbid Disease and Frailty
As a disease, the natural history of unoperated on AS has
largely remained unchanged for half a century. The mean
survival of patients with symptomatic severe AS has been
reported to be 23 5 months, with 1-year and 5-year
probability of survival 50% and 18%, respectively. In
light of the poor prognostic fate of patients symptomatic
from severe AS, the majority of clinicians believe that the
risk-beneﬁt analysis of surgical AVR should always err on
the side of surgery. This has led to many innovations in
surgical technique to the point where AVR can often be
performed minimally invasively with outstanding results,
even in higher risk cohorts. In-hospital mortality for highrisk AVR remains between 3% and 10% using standard
cardiac surgery methods, although there is evidence that
a minimally invasive J incision may beneﬁt some highrisk patients, particularly with severe chronic pulmonary disease [14, 80]. Indeed, less than 1% mortality has
been reported for minimally invasive J incision
operations [14]. However, some patients remain poor
surgical candidates under any circumstance and have
heretofore been left with no option other than medical
therapy alone. As recently highlighted from the results
of the PARTNER trial, cohort B, medical therapy alone
for this “too high risk” population carries a 50%
mortality at 12 months; a higher risk than most
advanced cases [81]. With the introduction of TAVR,
more emphasis on a quantitative assessment of
comorbidity of the patient with severe AS is performed.
Unfortunately, many high-risk AS patients are not
considered for surgery at many institutions [21, 22]. Freed
and associates [21] found that in a large academic medical
center only 31% of patients with severe AS were referred
for AVR including almost half the patients who had
already manifested symptoms. Much of this lack of
surgical referral was attributable to physicians not
recognizing symptoms and overestimating operative risk.
This lack of referral is an important issue that must be
revisited [21]. In the age of TAVR the decision regarding
which patients should forego aortic valve surgery
secondary to prohibitively high risk should no longer be
made in a surgical vacuum. In particular, the risk
assessment of the aged and frail subpopulation should
involve a multidisciplinary consultation with cardiologists,
surgeons, imaging specialists, and anesthesiologists.
Ideally, an interested and qualiﬁed “heart team” should
discuss each case individually. Although each patient
must undergo comprehensive objective testing and
evaluation regardless of intervention, it is imperative to
keep in mind that due to lack of convincing randomized
data at this time, the key element in the preoperative
assessment of the patient with aortic valve disease is
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Fig 20. Management strategy with chronic
severe aortic regurgitation. Preoperative
coronary angiography should be performed
routinely as determined by age, symptoms,
and coronary risk factors. Cardiac catheterization and angiography may also be helpful
when there is discordance between clinical
ﬁndings and echocardiography. “Stable”
refers to stable echocardiographic measurements. In some centers, serial follow-up may
be performed with radionuclide ventriculography (RVG) or magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) rather than echocardiography to assess
left ventricular (LV) volume and systolic
function. (AVR ¼ aortic valve replacement;
DD ¼ end-diastolic dimension; Echo ¼
echocardiography; EF ¼ ejection fraction;
SD ¼ end-systolic dimension. Reprinted with
permission from Ref. 19 [Bonow RO, et al.
Circulation. 2008;118:e523–e661. Ó2008
American Heart Association, Inc.]
whether he or she is too high risk for intervention, either
AVR or TAVR. This assessment is still highly dependent
on clinical judgment, and should be used in association
with quantitative evaluation [82].
The preoperative assessment of patients with aortic valve
disease should include veriﬁcation of disease severity,
evaluation of LV function, detection and characterization of
coronary artery disease (CAD) in at-risk persons, and
delineation of major comorbidities, including functional
status and frailty. In addition to a focused history and
physical examination, minimal routine testing comprises an
electrocardiogram (ECG), transthoracic echocardiogram
(TTE), chest radiograph, complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, and coagulation function. Coronary angiography is performed in patients with known or
suspected CAD and/or multiple atherosclerotic risk factors.
Assessment of the extent of ascending aortic calciﬁcation,
when indicated, can be obtained with noncontrast chest CT.
A surgical risk score (eg, STS-Preoperative Risk of Mortality
[PROM] or the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk
Evaluation [EuroSCORE]) and frailty index should complete
the assessment and help guide counseling. The latter may
require carefully supervised exercise testing (ie, 6-minute or
5-meter walk test).
With regard to functional capacity and constitutional
make-up, establishing an accurate measure of an
individual patient’s resilience deﬁned roughly as ones
ability to withstand a surgical procedure or intervention
and return to a reasonable quality of life after hospital
discharge is paramount. Resilience includes the ability to
cope with stress of surgery and regain health by learning
and adaptation, a well-known capacity of the human
mind [83]. With the increasingly frail population of older
adults, the line between tolerating a procedure with
successful return to activities of daily living or death has
never been ﬁner. Thus, a measurement of frailty along
with selective use of objective functional testing such as
dobutamine stress and exercise testing is required in
every high-risk patient’s workup before aortic valve
intervention.
Attempts have been made at risk modeling that
account for preoperative patient factors that may impact
outcomes. The STS uses such risk models to create riskadjusted performance reports for participants in the STS
ACSD. Although risk models were initially developed for
CABG surgery, similar models have now been developed
for use with heart valve surgery, particularly as the
proportion of such procedures has increased [84]. The last
published STS model for isolated valve surgery was
based on data from 2002 to 2006 models and includes
several nonfatal complications in addition to mortality.
At this time, TAVR has not yet been incorporated into
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the risk scoring process leaving individual centers to
extrapolate calculated PROM based on parameters and
data for surgical AVR, but the new STS data collection
module 2.73 will include more information that will
make the latter possible.
As one assesses patients for aortic valve intervention,
either surgical AVR or TAVR, it is important to keep in
mind that there is a new and yet to be fully deﬁned
population of aortic valve patients who are too high risk
for AVR, but are suitable for TAVR. An elderly patient
with a hostile mediastinum from prior surgery or the
presence of a porcelain aorta would be examples of this
population. In addition, there is also an “ultra-high risk
Group C” population that is not suitable for either
intervention. This latter population is analogous to
terminal cancer patients both in quality of life and prognosis. The goal of the preoperative assessment should
then be to sort out which patients can be treated with
intervention, surgical AVR versus TAVR and which are
best left to medical therapy and palliation, possibly with
the judicious use of BAV.
After conﬁrming the diagnosis, an extensive review of
systems and comorbidities should be undertaken with
particular attention to those preexisting conditions that
have been shown to negatively affect outcome in the
surgical patient. These conditions include but are not
limited to CAD, heart failure, peripheral arterial and
cerebral vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, renal insufﬁciency, chronic pulmonary disease, immunocompromised states, radiation heart disease, liver or other organ
dysfunction [80, 84, 85]. After performing initial functional
studies, the preoperative testing and assessment becomes
more straightforward and involves objective testing
mainly related to anatomical considerations. The caveat
here is that once a patient is directed to a particular
intervention, surgical AVR versus TAVR, the needed
objective prospective data can differ slightly for each
group. For example, in surgical AVR an evaluation of the
aortoiliac system is generally unwarranted, yet the entire
feasibility of TAVR options depends upon its extensive
characterization by multislice CT scan of the chest,
abdomen, pelvis, and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)
and/or aortoiliac angiography.
3.1. Surgical Risk Scores—Recommendations
CLASS IIA
1. Performing risk score analysis is reasonable to evaluate patients undergoing surgical AVR or TAVR to
quantitate PROM [81, 84, 86]. (Level of evidence B)
CLASS IIB
1. Performing risk score analysis may be reasonable to
aid in determining which patients should undergo
AVR, TAVR or medical therapy alone in high-risk
patients. (Level of evidence C)
Surgical risk scores such as the logistic EuroSCORE and
the STS-PROM are commonly used to identify high-risk
surgical or “inoperable” patients for TAVR (Fig 21) [87].
Using STS data from 2002 to 2006, isolated valve surgery
S13
Fig 21. Surgical evaluation of patients for aortic valve replacement
(AVR) or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). (AS ¼ aortic
stenosis; AVI ¼ aortic valve implantation; BAV ¼ balloon aortic
valvuloplasty; Cath ¼ catheterization; LA ¼ left atrium; LVEF ¼ left
ventricular ejection fraction; LV ¼ left ventricle; PET ¼ positron
emission tomography; PFTs ¼ pulmonary function tests; TA ¼
transapical; TAVI ¼ transcatheter aortic valve implantation; TF ¼
transfemoral; Vel ¼ velocity.)
risk models were developed for operative mortality,
permanent stroke, renal failure, prolonged ventilation
(more than 24 hours), deep sternal wound infection,
reoperation for any reason, a major morbidity or
mortality composite endpoint, prolonged postoperative
length of stay, and short postoperative length of stay.
The STS study population consisted of adult patients
who underwent one of three types of valve surgery: isolated AVR (n ¼ 67,292), isolated mitral valve replacement
(n ¼ 21,229), or isolated mitral valve repair (n ¼ 21,238).
The population was divided into a 60% development
sample and a 40% validation sample. After an initial
empirical investigation, the three surgery groups were
combined into a single logistic regression model with
numerous interactions to allow the covariate effects to
differ across these groups. Variables were selected based
on a combination of automated stepwise selection and
expert panel review. Unadjusted operative mortality (inhospital regardless of timing, and 30-day regardless of
venue) for all isolated valve procedures was 3.2%, and
unadjusted in-hospital morbidity rates ranged from 0.3%
for deep sternal wound infection to 11.8% for prolonged
ventilation. The number of predictors in each model
ranged from 10 covariates in the sternal infection model
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to 24 covariates in the composite mortality plus morbidity
model. Discrimination as measured by the c-index
ranged from 0.639 for reoperation to 0.799 for mortality.
When patients in the validation sample were grouped
into 10 categories based on deciles of predicted risk, the
average absolute difference between observed versus
predicted events within these groups ranged from 0.06%
for deep sternal wound infection to 1.06% for prolonged
postoperative stay [84].
The EuroSCORE was also developed with similar goal
in mind to stratify risk of cardiac surgery; however,
several studies have shown that the STS score, although
more reliable in predicting outcomes still often overestimates mortality, but not as much as the EuroSCORE,
which may overestimate by up to three times as much
[88, 89]. The STS score appears to be a powerful tool for
predicting long-term outcome and for selecting patients
who may beneﬁt from early surgery. Hence, risk-scoring
using the STS score should be routinely performed in
high-risk patients with AS to support the clinical
decision-making process [90].
3.2. Frailty Assessment
The assessment of frailty has become increasingly useful
as a tool for predicting how an individual patient will
respond or tolerate surgical intervention. Several groups
have begun to systematically quantify frailty as a predictive measure of risk in the preoperative assessment
[91-94]. Fried and colleagues [95] initially provided
a potential standardized deﬁnition for frailty in
community-dwelling older adults and offered concurrent and predictive validity for the deﬁnition. This study
involving 5,317 men and women aged more than 65 years
found that there is an intermediate stage identifying those
at high risk of frailty and provided evidence that frailty is
not synonymous with either comorbidity or disability, but
comorbidity is an etiologic risk factor for, and disability is
an outcome of, frailty. Frailty was deﬁned as a clinical
syndrome in which three or more of the following criteria
were present: unintentional weight loss (10 lbs in the past
year), self-reported exhaustion, weakness (grip strength),
slow walking speed, and low physical activity [95].
To date, frailty as a speciﬁc measure associated with
a patient’s ability to undergo surgical AVR or TAVR has
not been studied in a randomized fashion. Columbia
University has developed the Columbia Frailty Index,
which may become as a useful quantitative measure for
frailty to be used in preoperative decision-making.
Currently, many centers are adopting at minimum the
6-minute walk test, as required by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) TAVR studies, or a gait speed
determination in the assessment of frailty. In a study
when rate of death, myocardial infarction, or stroke by
EuroSCORE risk was stratiﬁed by 6-minute walking
distance, the 6-minute walk test added prognostic information [93]. In a Cox regression analysis, 6-minute walk
test distance was the only variable retained as an independent predictor of the composite outcome of death,
myocardial infarction or stroke at 12 months (hazard ratio
0.28, 95% conﬁdence interval: 0.09 to 0.85, p ¼ 0.025). The
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investigators concluded that the 6-minute walk test is safe
and feasible to carry out in patients with severe AS before
AVR, and provides potentially important functional and
prognostic additional information to clinical assessment
and the risk score [93].
Alﬁlalo and colleagues [91] studied a multicenter
prospective cohort of elderly patients undergoing cardiac
surgery at four tertiary care hospitals between 2008 and
2009. Patients were eligible if they were aged 70 years or
more and were scheduled for CABG or valve replacement
or repair, or both. The primary predictor was slow gait
speed, deﬁned as the time taken to walk 5 meters in more
than 6 seconds. The primary endpoint was a composite of
in-hospital postoperative mortality or major morbidity.
The cohort consisted of 131 patients with a mean age of
75.8 4.4 years; 34% were female. Sixty patients (46%)
were classiﬁed as slow walkers before cardiac surgery.
Slow walkers were more likely to be female (43% versus
25%, p ¼ 0.03) and diabetic (50% versus 28%, p ¼ 0.01). Thirty
patients (23%) experienced the primary composite endpoint
of mortality or major morbidity after cardiac surgery. Slow
gait speed was an independent predictor of the composite
endpoint after adjusting for the STS risk score (odds ratio
3.05, 95% conﬁdence interval: 1.23 to 7.54) [91]. Using
a comprehensive assessment of frailty test, Sunderman
and colleagues [94] studied 400 patients aged 74 years or
more who were admitted to a single center between
September 2008 and January 2010 [94]. For comparison,
the STS score and the EuroSCORE were calculated. The
primary endpoint was the correlation of frailty score to
30-day mortality. The study involved 206 female and 194
male patients. There were low-to-moderate albeit signiﬁcant correlations of frailty score with STS score and
EuroSCORE (p < 0.05). There was also a signiﬁcant correlation between frailty score and observed 30-day mortality
(p < 0.05) [94]. Consideration should also be given to a “minimental” evaluation of borderline elderly patients.
3.3. Physical Examination
Aortic stenosis typically is ﬁrst suspected on the basis of the
ﬁnding of a systolic ejection murmur on cardiac auscultation; however, physical examination ﬁndings are speciﬁc but
not sensitive for the diagnosis of AS severity [96]. The classic
ﬁndings of a loud (grade 3 to 4/6), basal, mid-to-late peaking
systolic murmur that radiates to the carotids, a single or
paradoxically split second heart sound, and delayed and
diminished carotid upstroke conﬁrm the presence of severe
AS. However, in the elderly, the carotid upstroke may be
normal because of the effects of aging on the vasculature. In
other settings, the murmur may be soft (especially if LV
systolic function is impaired) or may radiate to the apex
(Galavardin effect). The only physical examination ﬁnding
that is reliable in excluding the possibility of severe AS is
a normally split second heart sound [96]. Echocardiography
is indicated when there is a systolic murmur that is grade 3/6
or greater, a single S2, or symptoms that might be due to AS.
Chronic AR is associated with a decrescendo diastolic
murmur along the left or right sternal border, a wide pulse
pressure, and bounding pulses. The normal difference
between systolic leg and arm pressures is accentuated.
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Transthoracic echocardiography is indicated for evaluation
of any diastolic murmur.
3.4. Chest Radiography
Posteroanterior and lateral chest roentgenograms often
yield qualitative information on cardiac chamber size,
pulmonary blood ﬂow, pulmonary and systemic venous
pressure, chronic pulmonary disease, and aortic calciﬁcations. Although cardiac size is often normal in patients
with AS, occasionally rounding of the LV border and
apex due to the LV hypertrophy is apparent. Cardiomegaly is a late feature in patients with AS and
warrants careful echocardiographic analysis. In cases of
advanced heart failure, the right atrium and right
ventricle may also be enlarged. The lung ﬁelds should
also be checked for tumors, emphysema, interstitial
disease, and ﬂuid collections [97]. With right-side heart
failure, the lungs become unusually radiolucent because
of decreased pulmonary blood ﬂow. Conversely, signiﬁcant failure on the left side of the heart is characterized
by the presence of pulmonary edema or a cephalic bloodﬂow pattern. Aortic valve and aortic root calciﬁcation
are best appreciated in the lateral projections or on
ﬂuoroscopy.
3.5. Pulmonary Function Testing
The variables that are conventionally measured to assess
lung function before heart surgery include forced expiratory
volume in 1 second, forced vital capacity, forced expiratory
ﬂow between 25% and 75%, diffusing capacity of lung for
carbon monoxide (DLCO), and arterial blood gases. The STS
has deﬁned mild, moderate, and severe chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease. Although few papers exist speciﬁcally
regarding preoperative pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in
predicting outcomes after AVR, it has been well deﬁned that
severe airway obstruction carries signiﬁcant surgical risk,
leading to an increased expectation of difﬁcult weaning from
the ventilator and the possibility of tracheostomy [98].
Generally, preoperative hypercarbia (pCO2 >50 mm Hg),
forced expiratory volume in 1 second less than 30%
predicted, forced expiratory ﬂow between 25% and 75%
less than 25%, or DLCO less than 50% carries risk for
postoperative complications and prolonged intensive care
unit stay. Data from Adabag and associates [98] show that
a DLCO less than 50% of predicted on preoperative
pulmonary function testing is an independent risk factor
increasing the risk of mortality more than threefold after
adjusting for a validated mortality risk estimate.
Furthermore, the risk conferred by reduced DLCO was
additive to that brought by airway obstruction, increasing
mortality risk by 10 times among patients with both
airway obstruction and reduced DLCO [98].
Nevertheless, it remains critically important to ascertain the reasons for poor PFT such that every attempt at
determining the etiology of dyspnea before intervention
should be made. Pleural effusions should be drained
before performance of PFTs. Similarly, bronchitis or
pneumonia should be treated before pulmonary testing.
Kyphosis is an important factor to consider even in the
S15
absence of restrictive or obstructive spirometry values,
because the sternotomy may compromise cough and the
ability to clear secretions. It is plausible that replacement
of the aortic valve in some patients with dyspnea largely
attributable to pulmonary disease may prolong life, but
not necessarily improve quality of life. In this scenario,
BAV can be performed as an initial procedure to evaluate the improvement of the dyspnea. Improvement
in shortness of breath and repeat PFTs may indicate
a more robust and predictable success of AVR. When
the contribution of chronic pulmonary disease to the
overall pattern of heart failure, particularly dyspnea,
is uncertain, BAV maybe a physiologic “test” that better determines the pulmonary contribution. A marked
improvement would suggest that AS is a major
contributing factor.
In terms of TAVR with the transfemoral approach, the
strict adherence to the traditional guidelines can be
relaxed somewhat with many centers proﬁcient in TAVR
allowing patients to qualify for treatment with PFTs in an
approximately 25% predicted lower range. This again
depends on analysis of each individual case and origin of
symptoms. It also should be noted that as the new
generation devices become available more centers will
push to perform TAVR in the nonintubated patient with
worse PFTs. As for transapical TAVR, this still requires
mandatory intubation and a minithoracotomy. Direct
aortic approaches also require intubation and minithoracotomy or J mini sternotomy approaches. At this
time, it is best to remain rigid in the requirement to meet
the standard PFT guidelines for patients undergoing
thoracotomy or sternotomy for transapical or direct aortic
approaches. Regardless of the approach, surgical AVR or
TAVR should be considered in patients with severe
chronic pulmonary disease if life expectancy of more than
1 year is anticipated; otherwise BAV may be a more
reasonable palliative approach.
Various approaches and incisions have been used for
doing procedures on the aortic valve. A median sternotomy
is the traditional approach however minimal invasive
approaches such as a paramedian incision, hemisternotomy J incision and right mini thoracotomy have
been used with varying success. However, the J incision
appears to have a beneﬁt in patients with chronic pulmonary disease [1, 99–106]. The newer approach of TAVR will
be reviewed separately.
3.6. Electrocardiography
The typical ﬁnding on ECG in patients with severe AS is
LV hypertrophy, often with secondary repolarization
abnormalities. Left atrial enlargement, as indicated by
a P-wave abnormality (P 0.12 s), or LV hypertrophy, or
conduction delay is present in more than 80% of severe
AS patients. Conduction abnormalities may include left
or right bundle branch block with left or right axis
deviation, or occasionally, isolated right bundle branch
block. That may be due to extension of the calciﬁcation
into the surrounding conduction system. Atrial ﬁbrillation can also develop, particularly in older patients and
those with hypertension [97].
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3.7. Echocardiography—Recommendations
CLASS I [107]
1. TTE is recommended for the diagnosis and assessment of AS or AR severity. (Level of evidence B)
2. Echocardiography is recommended in patients with
AS or AR for the assessment of LV wall thickness,
size, and function. (Level of evidence B)
3. TTE is recommended for reevaluation of patients with
known AS or AR and changing symptoms or signs.
(Level of evidence B)
4. TTE is recommended for the assessment of changes in
hemodynamic severity and LV function in patients
with known AS or AR during pregnancy. (Level of
evidence B)
5. TTE is recommended for reevaluation of asymptomatic patients: every 6 months for severe AS or AR,
every 1 to 2 years for moderate AS or AR, and every 3
to 5 years for mild AS or AR. (Level of evidence B)
6. Intraoperative TEE is recommended to check repairs
or replacements. (Level of evidence B)
Transthoracic echocardiography is the imaging
modality of choice for diagnosis and assessment of AS or
AR. Moreover, TTE is valuable for determining the LV
response to pressure overload, detecting other associated
valve lesions, and in estimating pulmonary artery pressures. In nearly all patients, the severity of the stenotic
lesion can be deﬁned with Doppler measurements of
maximum jet velocity, mean transvalvular pressure
gradient, and continuity equation valve area, as discussed
in the 2003 ACC/AHA/ASE guidelines for the clinical
application of echocardiography [108].
Transthoracic echocardiography demonstrates the
morphology of the aortic valve and can often delineate if
it is trileaﬂet or bicuspid. The spectrum of calciﬁc aortic
valve disease ranges from aortic sclerosis without
obstruction to severe AS. Aortic sclerosis is common and
is often seen in people aged more than 65 years. On TTE,
it is characterized by focal areas of valve thickening,
typically located in the leaﬂet center with commissural
sparing and normal leaﬂet mobility. Diffuse leaﬂet
thickening is not characteristic of aortic sclerosis; instead,
it suggests normal aging changes, a different valvular
pathology, or an imaging artifact. With aortic sclerosis,
valvular hemodynamics are within normal limits, with an
aortic valve velocity of less than 2.5 m/s and a aortic valve
opening of 1.6 cm to 2.6 cm [109]. In patients with severe
AS and normal LV systolic function, TTE parameters
include a jet velocity more than 4.0 m/s, mean aortic
valve gradient more than 40 mm Hg, AVA less than 1.0
cm2, or a valve area index less than 0.6 cm2/m2 [19].
In patients with AS, the aortic valve leaﬂets are usually
thickened and calciﬁed, with limited excursion and
a reduced AVA. Doming of the aortic leaﬂets due to
asymmetry and restriction is often seen in young patients
with bicuspid aortic valves. The ascending aorta should
also be evaluated and measured to detect associated
aortic aneurysms, which are particularly common in
patients with bicuspid valves. In the absence of heart
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failure, the LV cavity is usually of normal size or small.
Left ventricular hypertrophy is often present, as is left
atrial enlargement; LV systolic function is usually normal.
If heart failure has developed, the left ventricle may be
enlarged and systolic function depressed [97].
As the AVA decreases with time, the velocity of forward
ﬂow across the valve increases. Assessing the severity of
AS using Doppler criteria is dependent not only on the
severity of AS, but also on the aortic ﬂow. In patients with
low cardiac output, such as patients with LV dysfunction,
the calculated gradients and AVA may not be representative of the true severity of stenosis. In such cases of “low
output, low gradient” AS, the administration of low-dose
dobutamine may be needed to truly assess the severity of
AS and to differentiate patients with anatomically severe
AS from those with “pseudo” AS [97, 110, 111].
Severe AR is deﬁned as a vena contracta width more
than 0.6 cm, regurgitation volume more than 60 mL per
beat, regurgitation fraction more than 60%, and effective
regurgitation oriﬁce more than 0.3 cm2 [20, 68].
3.8. Exercise Testing—Recommendations
CLASS IIB
1. Exercise testing in asymptomatic patients with AS or
AR may be considered to elicit exercise-induced
symptoms and abnormal blood pressure responses.
(Level of evidence B)
CLASS III
1. Exercise testing should not be performed in symptomatic patients with AS or AR. (Level of evidence B)
Exercise testing can provide valuable information in
patients with valvular heart disease, either AS or AR,
especially in those whose symptoms are difﬁcult to
assess. It can be combined with echocardiography,
radionuclide angiography, and cardiac catheterization. It
has a proven track record of safety, even among asymptomatic patients with severe AS or AR. Exercise testing
has generally been underutilized in this patient population and should constitute an important component of
the evaluation process.
Many patients with AS or AR do not recognize symptoms that may develop gradually and cannot differentiate
fatigue and dyspnea from aging and physical deconditioning. Other patients modify their lifestyle to prevent
symptoms from occurring. In apparently asymptomatic
patients with severe AS or AR, exercise testing may have
a role in eliciting symptoms or an abnormal blood pressure response to exercise. Such testing should be performed with close physician supervision and should not
be performed on patients with symptoms [19, 111].
Exercise testing in adults with AS has poor diagnostic
accuracy for evaluation of concurrent CAD. Presumably,
this is due to the presence of an abnormal baseline ECG,
LV hypertrophy, and limited coronary ﬂow reserve.
Electrocardiographic ST-segment depression during
exercise occurs in 80% of adults with asymptomatic AS
and has no known prognostic signiﬁcance.
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Exercise testing should not be performed in symptomatic patients owing to a high risk of complications.
However, in asymptomatic patients, exercise testing is
relatively safe and may provide information that is not
uncovered during the initial clinical evaluation [41–43, 96,
112, 113]. When the medical history is unclear, exercise
testing can identify a limited exercise capacity, abnormal
blood pressure responses, or even exercise-induced
symptoms [41–43]. In one series, patients manifesting
symptoms, abnormal blood pressure (<20 mm Hg
increase), or ST-segment abnormalities with exercise had
a symptom-free survival at 2 years of only 19% compared
with 85% symptom-free survival for patients who had
none of these ﬁndings with exercise [42]. Four patients
died during the course of this study (1.2% annual
mortality rate); all had an AVA less than 0.7 cm2 and an
abnormal exercise test. In another series, exercise
testing brought out symptoms in 29% of patients who
were considered asymptomatic before testing; in these
patients, spontaneous symptoms developed in 51% over
the next year compared with only 11% of patients who
had no symptoms on exercise testing [43]. An abnormal
hemodynamic response (eg, hypotension or failure to
increase blood pressure with exercise) in a patient with
severe AS is considered a poor prognostic ﬁnding
[42, 114]. Finally, in selected patients, the observations
made during exercise may provide a basis for advice
about physical activity. Exercise testing in asymptomatic
patients should be performed only under the supervision
of an experienced physician with close monitoring of
blood pressure and the ECG.
3.9. Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography and Cardiac
Catheterization for Low-Flow/Low-Gradient Aortic
Stenosis—Recommendations
CLASS IIA
1. Dobutamine stress echocardiography is reasonable to
evaluate patients with low-ﬂow/low gradient AS and
LV dysfunction for possible AVR or TAVR [81, 113,
115–122]. (Level of evidence B)
2. Cardiac catheterization for hemodynamic measurements with infusion of dobutamine can be useful for
evaluation of patients with low-ﬂow/low-gradient AS
and LV dysfunction. (Level of evidence C)
Patients with severe AS and low cardiac output often
present with a relatively low transvalvular pressure
gradient (ie, mean gradient <30 mm Hg). Such patients can
be difﬁcult to distinguish from those with low cardiac
output and only mild to moderate AS. In the former (true
anatomically severe AS), the stenotic lesion contributes to
an elevated afterload, decreased EF, and low stroke
volume. In the latter, primary contractile dysfunction is
responsible for the decreased EF and low stroke volume;
the problem is further complicated by reduced valve
opening forces that contribute to limited valve mobility and
apparent stenosis. In both situations, the low-ﬂow state and
low-pressure gradient contribute to a calculated effective
valve area that can meet criteria for severe AS.
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Alternate measures of AS severity have been proposed
as being less ﬂow dependent than gradients or valve area.
These include valve resistance and stroke work loss.
However, all of these measures are ﬂow dependent, have
not been shown to predict clinical outcome, and have not
gained widespread clinical use [123]. In selected patients
with low-ﬂow/low-gradient AS and LV dysfunction, it
may be useful to determine the transvalvular pressure
gradient and to calculate valve area during a baseline state
and again during exercise or low-dose pharmacologic
(ie, dobutamine infusion) stress, with the goal of determining whether stenosis is severe or only moderate in
severity [113, 115–119, 121, 122]. Such studies can be performed in the echocardiography laboratory or in the
cardiac catheterization laboratory. This approach is based
on the notion that patients who do not have true anatomically severe stenosis will exhibit an increase in the valve
area and little change in gradient during an increase in
stroke volume [115, 117]. Thus, if a dobutamine infusion
produces an increment in stroke volume and an increase in
valve area more than 0.2 cm2 and little change in gradient, it
is likely that baseline evaluation overestimated the severity
of stenosis. In contrast, patients with severe AS will have
a ﬁxed valve area with an increase in stroke volume and an
increase in gradient. These patients are likely to respond
favorably to surgery. Patients who fail to show an increase
in stroke volume with dobutamine (<20%), referred to as
“lack of contractile reserve,” appear to have a very poor
prognosis with either medical or surgical therapy
[108, 120]. Dobutamine stress testing in patients with AS
should be performed only in centers with experience in
pharmacologic stress testing and with a cardiologist in
attendance.
The clinical approach to the patient with low-output AS
relies on integration of numerous sources of data. In
addition to measurement of Doppler velocity, gradient,
and valve area, the extent of valve calciﬁcation should be
assessed. Severe calciﬁcation and minimal leaﬂet movement suggests that AVR may be beneﬁcial. When transthoracic images are suboptimal, transesophageal imaging
or ﬂuoroscopy may be used to assess the degree of valve
calciﬁcation and oriﬁce area. The risks of surgery and
patient comorbidities also are taken into account.
Although patients with low-output severe AS have a poor
prognosis, in those with contractile reserve, outcome is
still better with AVR than with medical therapy [120].
Some patients without contractile reserve may also
beneﬁt from AVR, but decisions in these high-risk
patients must be individualized because there are few
data indicating who will have a better outcome with
surgery.
3.10. Computed Tomography
Traditional use of a CT scan in the assessment of the
patient with aortic valve disease has been reserved as
a secondary testing modality to further elucidate unusual
anatomy, quantitate the calcium burden, and assess risks
of reoperation. Both electron beam and multislice cardiac
CT can provide quantitative assessment of valve
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calciﬁcation and have been shown to correlate with echocardiographic assessment and clinical outcome [124]. The
role of CT in clinical management of AS is not yet well
deﬁned, but CT has an established role in evaluating the
presence and severity of aortic root and ascending aortic
dilation in patients with associated aortic aneurysms [97].
In TAVR, however, accurate preoperative assessment of
potential leaﬂet calcium obstructing the coronary ostia
and the aortic annulus diameter is critical for correct
valve sizing to minimize the potential for paravalvular
AR or device migration. However, a gold standard has
not yet been established [125]. Compared with
ﬂuoroscopy and standard echocardiography, limited by
their two-dimensionality, multislice CT can provide
three-dimensional data sets with a high spatial resolution
[126]. The utility and cost effectiveness of TTE, TEE, and CT
scan has not fully been evaluated for TAVR, and there are
some data suggesting that TEE may be all that is needed for
preoperative assessment. One study involving 187 patients
referred for TAVR dual-source CT and TTE could not
deﬁnitely predict TEE measurements. The TEE measurements showed good intraobserver and interobserver
variability, which is more satisfactory than that for dualsource CT measurements [127]. The researchers
concluded that taking TEE annulus measurements as
decisive parameter for the implantation is safe with a low
rate of complications such as necessity of valve-in-valve
implantation, severe paravalvular leak, or valve migration.
Another important component in the assessment for
TAVR entails evaluation of the aortoiliac system [128]. That
can be done by way of at least three different imaging
modalities: angiogram, IVUS, or CT scan [129, 130]. The
aortoiliac angiogram is usually performed at the completion of the cardiac catheterization and adds little to
no morbidity to the procedure in the patient with
normal renal function [131]. In patients with concomitant
renal disease where dye load is of concern, IVUS is an
excellent option for analyzing calcium and plaque
burden, and vessel size. IVUS does not, however, impart
critical information related to tortuosity. Multislice CT
scan with contrast is being used alone or in combination
with the other modalities in most ongoing TAVR clinical
trials including with a catheter leaﬂet in the distal aorta
at the time of catheterization [81]. Again, in patients
with renal issues, contrast can be forgone but delivers
suboptimal imaging, and these patients are probably
bettered served by having a minimal contrast aortoiliac
angiogram with complimentary IVUS.
3.11. Cardiac Catheterization—Recommendations
CLASS I
1. Coronary angiography is recommended before AVR
in patients with AS or AR at risk for CAD. (Level of
evidence B)
2. Patients aged more than 45 years undergoing a valve
procedure should undergo coronary imaging. (Level
of evidence C)
3. Cardiac catheterization for hemodynamic measurements is recommended for assessment of severity of
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AS or AR in symptomatic patients when noninvasive
tests are inconclusive or when there is a discrepancy
between noninvasive tests and clinical ﬁndings.
(Level of evidence C)
4. Coronary imaging is recommended before AVR in
patients with AS or AR for whom a pulmonary
autograft (Ross procedure) or root procedure is
contemplated and if the origin of the coronary arteries
were not identiﬁed by noninvasive technique. (Level
of evidence C)
CLASS IIB
1. For patients aged less than 45 years, CT coronary
angiography may be considered. (Level of evidence C)
CLASS III
1. Cardiac catheterization for hemodynamic measurements is not recommended for the assessment of
severity of AS before AVR when noninvasive tests are
adequate and concordant with clinical ﬁndings. (Level
of evidence C)
2. Cardiac catheterization for hemodynamic measurements is not recommended for the assessment of LV
function and severity of AS or AR in asymptomatic
patients. (Level of evidence C)
Because of the accuracy of echocardiographic assessment of the severity of AS or AR, cardiac catheterization
is currently used most often to identify the presence of
associated CAD rather than to deﬁne hemodynamic
abnormalities.
However,
invasive
hemodynamic
measurements are helpful in patients in whom the
noninvasive tests are inconclusive or provide discrepant
results regarding the severity of AS or AR. This is performed by measuring simultaneous LV and ascending
aortic pressures and measuring cardiac output by either
the Fick principle or the indicator-dilution technique. The
AVA can be calculated and considered severe when the
valve area is 1.0 cm2 or less, or the AVA index is 0.6
cm2/m2 or less. Coronary arteriography is recommended
before AVR for all patients aged 35 years or more and for
patients aged less than 35 years if they have LV systolic
dysfunction, possible symptoms or signs suggesting
CAD, or two or more risk factors for premature CAD [97].
For patients with AS or AR, the indications for cardiac
catheterization and angiography are essentially the same
as for other conditions, namely, to assess the coronary
circulation and conﬁrm or clarify the clinical diagnosis. In
preparation for AVR, coronary angiography is indicated
for patients suspected of having CAD. If the clinical and
echocardiographic data are typical of severe isolated AS
or AR, coronary angiography may be all that is needed
before AVR. A complete left-side and right-side heart
catheterization may be necessary to assess the hemodynamic severity of the AS if there is a discrepancy between
clinical and echocardiographic data or a patient has
a history of radiation heart disease. The pressure gradient
across a stenotic valve is related to the valve oriﬁce area
and the transvalvular ﬂow [132]. Thus, in the presence of
depressed cardiac output, relatively low pressure
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gradients may be obtained in patients with severe AS.
Conversely, during exercise or other high-ﬂow states,
signiﬁcant pressure gradients can be measured in minimally stenotic valves. For these reasons, complete
assessment of AS requires the following: measurement of
transvalvular ﬂow; determination of the mean transvalvular pressure gradient; and calculation of the effective
valve area.
Attention to detail with accurate measurements of
pressure and ﬂow is important, especially in patients with
low cardiac output or a low transvalvular pressure
gradient [19].
In patients with associated extensive CAD and poor LV
function, the contribution of the individual components
of valve disease or CAD to poor function can be difﬁcult
to assess. In this scenario, the use of either PET scanning
or cardiac MRI may help in differentiating the etiology
and as to whether a patient may potentially improve with
AVR or TAVR.
The STS data collection form, version 2.73, can be
found online (Web address provided in Appendix 1).
Perusal of it will show that members of the writing
committee, and other contributors, added new ﬁelds
that particularly gather data on sicker patients,
especially for TAVR. The new ﬁelds gather information
related to patient frailty including nutritional and
functional reserve. Clearly, as more patients undergo
TAVR, the number of patients with frailty and limited
reserve or very high risk that undergo conventional
surgery will decline. Thus, some of the ﬁelds may not
be part of global predictive models, such as radiation
heart disease or cirrhosis, but for subgroup analysis,
these data would be useful. The ﬁelds also incorporate
data that is relevant to TAVR.
4. Cannulation Options for Aortic Valve and Root
Surgery—Recommendations
Class I
1. For most patients requiring a simple aortic valve
procedure without ascending aortic disease, the distal
ascending aorta is recommended as the site for cannulation [14]. (Level of evidence B)
2. For complex repairs involving the arch or a calciﬁed
aorta or porcelain aorta, use of the axillary artery with
a side graft is recommended [14]. (Level of evidence B)
The site of cannulation for aortic valve procedures, with
or without ancillary procedures, has been found to
inﬂuence stroke and survival. Arterial cannulation for
procedures involving the aortic valve through the
ascending aorta can be tailored for each patient’s speciﬁc
pathology. These guidelines address the most commonly
utilized, but not all, of these options for cannulation with
regard to valve and proximal aortic abnormalities. The
sites of cannulation discussed here will include the
ascending aorta, the aortic arch, the LV apex, the left
axillary or subclavian artery, and the femoral arteries.
These options will be discussed in relation to “simple”
AVR, the porcelain aorta, redo sternotomies, and
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procedures involving the aortic arch. The advantages and
disadvantages of each site are discussed relative to the
speciﬁc pathologies.
Although related to the cannulation site, approaches to
brain protection will not be discussed in detail in this
section. For further information on brain protection,
reference should be made of the recently completed
guidelines on thoracic aortic disease [1]. Principles of
brain protection will be referred to, but not discussed
directly outside of the cannulation options. The
advantages, disadvantages and some of the data for
each approach will be discussed.
4.1. Ascending Aorta
The ascending aorta remains the most commonly utilized
site of arterial cannulation for cardiac surgery, including
aortic valve surgery. The main advantage of the
ascending aorta is proximity as it is exposed during
exposure of the heart in creating the pericardial well. In
cases limited to the aortic valve or root, there is sufﬁcient
distance to isolate the proximal ascending aorta with
a cross clamp and distal perfusion. Further, the cannulation is probably the most straightforward, with direct
cannulation within one or two pursestrings. For isolated
aortic valve and root procedures without a calciﬁed aorta,
few would argue that this is not the optimal site of
cannulation.
However, the drawbacks mainly deal with the
abnormal ascending aorta, whether it is thin, aneurysmal
or dissected. Although some surgeons do cannulate
aneurysms or dissections directly, many others prefer
alternate sites to avoid complications of the cannulation
including dissection, rupture, and the need to cannulate
again after resection of the ascending aorta. These
complications can occur to any access site, but in this case
the dissection would require ascending aortic replacement [133–135]. Another aortic abnormality that may
preclude ascending aortic replacement is the presence of
intraluminal abnormalities that can embolize. Atheroma
or atherosclerotic disease of the aorta can embolize
anywhere in the arterial tree resulting in stroke, bowel
infarct, or other end organ malperfusion.
The Cleveland Clinic and Baylor both published large
studies demonstrating the safety of ascending aortic
cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass [136, 137]. The
complication rates were minimal including rates of stroke
and dissection. Cannulation of the ascending aorta has
been described in even Type A dissection repair in
selected patients with good results in small single center
cohorts [138, 139]. Epiaortic echocardiographic scanning
may aid in decision making.
4.2. Aortic Arch
Cannulation of the arch has the advantage of being distal
to ascending aortic pathologies. The cross-clamp can be
placed up to the base of the innominate artery. The extra
length can be particular helpful in not only ascending
aortic pathology, but also in circumstances where aortic
domain can be compromised because of vein graft proximal anastomosis and even because of outﬂow grafts for
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ventricular assist devices. In many patients, the arch
tissue may be more robust than the ascending aorta.
The disadvantages of arch cannulation can be the depth
and angulation of the arch. Moreover, cannulation
complications of this site can be difﬁcult to repair when
complications do occur. It provides no beneﬁt for arch
operations except for speed of cannulation as the site will
be resected, and it provides no access for selective antegrade perfusion during the open arch.
The data on distal arch cannulation are limited, but Borger
and associates [140] demonstrated fewer embolic events
during CABG by transcranial Doppler. They found
no clinical correlates of stroke or neuropsychological
impairment to these emboli, but the study was small [141].
Importantly, these studies demonstrated no right sided
malperfusion with this technique demonstrating it can be
safe for cases with loss of ascending aortic domain from
previous operations or a fragile ascending aorta. Early
studies have shown adequate perfusion to the brain with
arch cannulation conﬁrmed by electroencephalogram and
fewer strokes compared with peripheral cannulation [142].
No study directly compares ascending to arch cannulation,
but few data exist suggesting that arch cannulation is not
safe.
4.3. Right Axillary or Subclavian Artery
The right axillary or subclavian artery started being
utilized because of the anatomy of the innominate artery.
By cannulating the right axillary, the right side of the
brain can be perfused by occlusion of the innominate.
Using this site, the transition from full body perfusion to
selective antegrade brain perfusion (ABP) is easy. Further,
it may facilitate the de-airing of the arch once the open
portion is complete by allowing pressurization of the
brachiocephalic vessels before reapplication of the crossclamp and returning to full body reperfusion. Additionally, this site is an excellent choice for the difﬁcult redo
sternotomy. If the heart or great vessels are attached to
the posterior sternum and potential injury during entry is
likely, axillary artery cannulation can be a safe approach
to secure arterial access before sternal division.
The disadvantage to axillary cannulation is that it takes
time to sew on a graft. While some centers will directly
cannulate the artery, overwhelmingly an 8-mm Dacron
graft is sewn on for access since this is associated with less
strokes and brachial plexus nerve injury. This facilitates
closure later and allows continued right arm perfusion.
The proximity of the brachial plexus and the axillary vein
can put these structures at risk for injury and can cause
chronic pain in some patients. While the peripheral
positioning of this site may be its most signiﬁcant
advantage, it can also be a drawback. For instance, the
needle holes from this graft can bleed throughout the
heparinization which tends to drain away from the pericardial well. If the area is not draped properly to catch
this bleeding or a pump suction basket placed in the well,
a signiﬁcant amount of blood can be lost during long
bypass periods.
The data regarding this site are limited to single institutional studies, but most suggests a stroke beneﬁt with
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use of axillary perfusion including when using selective
ABP. The Cleveland Clinic demonstrated that direct
cannulation may have more complications than sewing
on a side arm, and that this approach may limit the stroke
incidence in arch and circulatory arrest cases [143, 144].
More retrospective evidence has arisen from Halkos and
colleagues that axillary cannulation during proximal
aortic procedures can reduce resource utilization through
reduced pulmonary and renal complications [145]. The
data regarding the optimal cannulation for arch
operations are mainly retrospective and single
institution, but the majority of arch surgeons utilize this
cannulation site for selective antegrade brain protection
during the open arch. Of note, Merkkola and colleagues
[146, 147] suggested that selective ABP through the axillary alone would not fully perfuse the left hemisphere of
the brain which is why some advocate multiple sites of
antegrade perfusion during hypothermic circulatory
arrest (HCA). The clinical signiﬁcance of this is still not
known although in approximately 14% of patients the
circle of Willis is not complete, endangering brain
perfusion.
4.4. Femoral Artery
Femoral artery cannulation may be the easiest and fastest
site of cannulation in emergency. Both open and percutaneous exposures are relatively uncomplicated in most
patients. The access can be further facilitated by accessing
the artery with a wire or arterial line, especially in cases
where hasty arterial access may be anticipated. Before the
popularization of axillary artery cannulation, the femoral
approach was very commonly utilized in aortic dissections with success. In almost all cases, one femoral artery
or the other is spared from the dissection and mostly the
right is spared 80% of the time. Additionally, the femoral
arteries are commonly utilized for minimally invasive
surgery. The arterial cannulation is completely separate
from the operative ﬁeld and therefore out of the way.
The drawbacks of the femoral artery are essentially
related to size and to atherosclerotic disease. The femoral
artery of some patients may be too small to achieve an
appropriate cardiac index on bypass. Atherosclerotic
disease can complicate both cannulation and cannulation
complications may arise, such as retrograde brain embolization. Distal limb perfusion may also be compromised
and hence some surgeons advocate a second smaller distal
cannula or use of a side graft. Clearly for transfemoral
TAVR, distal limb ischemia may be a problem for long
procedures. Preoperative CT scanning or TEE screening
for atherosclerotic disease may reduce the risk of stroke,
particularly for minimally invasive procedures, including
robotic procedures. Diminished femoral pulses can make
identiﬁcation and wiring of the vessel more difﬁcult,
particularly in obese patients or for reoperation [148].
Further, opening diseased vessels can lead to further
stenosis of the artery at the cannulation site with repair as
well as lead to potential retrograde embolization with the
initiation of bypass [149, 150]. For aortic dissections,
retrograde ﬂow on bypass can even extend the dissection
proximally or distally. Despite these potential drawbacks,
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femoral cannulation with retrograde corporal perfusion
remains widely used with a reasonable safety proﬁle [151].
4.5. Left Ventricular Apex
Cannulation of the apex of the heart remains an option when
other possibilities are exhausted. The cannula can be placed
through an apical purse string with passage of the cannula
out through the aortic valve. This can be particularly valuable in cases where the aorta cannot be safely manipulated
such as dissection or porcelain aorta [152, 153].
Although this can be a valuable bailout, other strategies
are preferred because this site requires manipulation of
the apex of the heart which is not well tolerated in most
patients. Further, the outﬂow of the cannula must be
distal to the aortic valve to avoid ventricular distension.
Distension can also be caused by aortic insufﬁciency from
the cannula crossing the valve. A LV vent is suggested for
both potential removal of air and prevention of ventricular distension. While in theory the apical cannulation
could affect the ventricular function, this small change in
shape with closure of this access site does not appear to
cause any clinically evident decrease in function.
However, the scar created by this repair could potentially
lead to aberrant ventricular electrical conduction, clot
formation, or an apical aneurysm.
Studies have shown the feasibility of transapical cannulation during dissection. Recently Sosnowski and
coworkers [154] reported their preferred technique of
cannulation for aortic dissection requiring TEE guidance
to insure appropriate true lumen perfusion. This
approach has been utilized for various types of
procedures for cardiopulmonary bypass, but may be
more of a bailout than a preferred approach for arterial
cannulation with the majority of publications referring
to aortic dissection repair [153, 155].
4.6. Further Research
The optimal approach to cannulation of straightforward
cases is probably the ascending aorta. However, the
optimal approach to cannulation for cases involving the
ascending aorta and arch will be dependent on the optimal
approach to brain protection during the open arch surgery.
This research would require a multicenter comparison of
neurocognitive outcomes using selective antegrade
perfusion with perfusion of the right carotid, both carotids,
or all three brachiocephalic vessels compared with retrograde brain perfusion (RBP) and HCA. To complicate the
evaluation, patient factors such as atherosclerotic burden
and distribution can play a signiﬁcant role in this decision
and evaluation. Only then can the optimal cannulation site
for these cases be narrowed down.
4.7. Quality Measures
The Achilles heel to cannulation continues to be embolization. Quality measures need to be focused on the most
crippling of embolization: cerebrovascular accidents.
Postoperative delirium can also be a signiﬁcant measure
to follow as small emboli or air embolization may cause
signiﬁcant perioperative confusion. At this time, consequences of high-intensity transcranial Doppler signals
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or MRI-related defects are poorly understood in the
absence of frank stroke. Other considerations would be
iatrogenic dissection or rupture secondary to cannulation.
However, the interdependence of cannulation with the
type of brain protection may not muddy the picture
sufﬁciently that cannulation strategy alone becomes
a covariable. Thus, we do not believe a speciﬁc cannulation site is an absolute essential.
4.8. Conclusions
The optimal site for cannulation remains a surgeon preference. No perfect site exists and probably needs to be
tailored to the speciﬁc patient anatomy, the perfusion
requirements of the procedure, and the surgeon’s preference for potential brain protection. For the overwhelming
majority of cases the cannulation of the ascending aorta is
preferred, but the choice of arterial cannulation site can be
tailored with thoughtful consideration of both the patient’s
anatomy and the procedure being performed.
5. Mechanical Aortic Valves—Recommendations
Class I
1. Before mechanical AVR, all patients who have known
CAD, have had a prior myocardial infarction, have
angina pectoris as a symptom, or are greater than age
45, should have preoperative screening of their
coronary arteries, either by direct coronary angiography. (Level of evidence C)
2. All patients undergoing mechanical AVR should
receive perioperative prophylactic antibiotics to cover
both gram positive and negative organisms. (Level of
evidence C)
3. All patients receiving a mechanical aortic valve
should receive postoperative anticoagulation, beginning after valve implantation. (Level of evidence C)
4. All patients with mechanical aortic valve prostheses
should receive prophylactic antibiotics for all dental
or surgical procedures to prevent prosthetic endocarditis. (Level of evidence C)
Class IIa
1. Nasal mupirocin is probably indicated for methicillin
resistant organism or routinely before and after
operations. (Level of evidence C)
2. Preoperative chlorhexidine showers and mouth
washes should be considered. (Level of evidence C)
Quality Measures
1. All patients receiving a mechanical aortic valve
should receive indeﬁnite postoperative anticoagulation therapy. Controversy exists over the exact
target international normalized ratio (INR) levels for
mechanical aortic valve prostheses. Appropriate
levels of therapeutic INR vary according to concomitant patient risk factors [156]. The safety of lower
levels of anticoagulation is improved with patientcontrolled anticoagulation [157].
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2. All patients with mechanical aortic valve prostheses
should receive prophylactic antibiotics for all dental or
surgical procedures to prevent prosthetic endocarditis.
3. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor
therapy should be considered in patients with low EF
postoperatively.
Pros
Currently available mechanical aortic valve prostheses
have several advantages, including ease of insertion,
safety, durability, excellent hemodynamics and long-term
track record of performance. Mechanical aortic valves are
all relatively easy for cardiac surgeons to implant. There
are often different types of cloth sewing rings available
to adjust for annular differences. In addition, all current
mechanical valves have a low proﬁle, making implantation much easier. The potential for obstruction of the
coronary ostia during implantation is minimal. Care must
be taken, however, to insure that the tails left on
implanting sutures cannot impinge between the disc and
valve housing during valve closure.
Structural dysfunction of currently approved mechanical heart valves is extremely rare but not zero. Because
most mechanical prosthetic occluders are constructed of
some form of pyrolytic carbon, they are susceptible to
some degree to chipping or fracture that can be induced
by trauma at the time of insertion, such as metal-induced
scratches, or cavitation erosion. For all intents and
purposes, however, current mechanical aortic prostheses
have endured accelerated bench testing without
destruction for the equivalent of several patient lifetimes.
For younger patients who want to minimize the risk of
reoperation, mechanical aortic valves are the best option.
All mechanical aortic valves currently available in the
United States are of some type of bileaﬂet design, since
Medtronic, Inc, withdrew its single tilting disc prosthesis
from the market in late 2009. Generally speaking, the
hemodynamic performance of bileaﬂet aortic prostheses
is excellent with efﬁcacious oriﬁce-to-annulus ratios and
thus EOAs. Whereas all mechanical valves have some
intentionally designed regurgitation, this is rarely of
clinical signiﬁcance.
Several models of currently available mechanical aortic
valves have been in clinical use for more than 30 years.
Thus, excellent long-term data on large numbers of
patients with mechanical aortic valves are available to
prove their low incidence of structural dysfunction,
nonstructural dysfunction, and prosthetic endocarditis,
and also to deﬁne anticoagulation strategies that minimize
thromboembolic events while limiting anticoagulantrelated bleeding complications.
Cons
All valve prostheses have their disadvantages, some of
which are common to all prostheses and some of which are
speciﬁc to different types or designs. As with all prostheses,
mechanical aortic valves have a thromboembolic potential,
risk of prosthetic endocarditis, tissue ingrowth, and risk for
nonstructural dysfunction, including paravalvular leak
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and hemolysis [158]. The thromboembolic potential of
mechanical aortic prostheses is substantially greater than
that of bioprosthesis, and all mechanical valves require
some type of anticoagulation. The gold standard for
anticoagulation of mechanical valves has been warfarin.
The suggested target levels of therapeutic INR for
mechanical valves vary more according to associated
patient risk factors than to the individual commercial
models. Higher target levels of INR are associated with
signiﬁcantly increased risk of anticoagulant-related
bleeding. Lower risks of thromboembolism and
anticoagulant-related bleeding have been achieved with
patient-monitored anticoagulation. As with all anticoagulation strategies, the risks of thromboembolism and
anticoagulant-related bleeding are essentially two sides of
the same coin. One can often lower the risk of one but only
by increasing the risk of the other. Thus, the composite
thromboembolism and bleeding index is the most accurate
assessment of the combined risk [159]. The ongoing and
cumulative risks of thromboembolism and bleeding have
led most patients in recent years to opt for bioprosthesis,
accepting the probable need for reoperation.
Considerable controversy exists concerning the efﬁcacy
of adding antiplatelet agents, usually aspirin, to warfarin
for anticoagulation of mechanical aortic valves. Several
studies have suggested lower rates of thromboembolism,
particularly in patients with concomitant CAD, while most
studies have shown a signiﬁcantly increased incidence of
gastrointestinal bleeding with the combined therapy.
Nevertheless, in patients who, for example develop
amaurosis fugax, particularly with composite mechanical
valves, the addition of aspirin may alleviate the problem.
Several trials of using only antiplatelet therapy for
mechanical heart valves are in process with no clear proof
of the safety of that strategy. One future hope for anticoagulation therapy lies with direct thrombin inhibitors,
which might obviate many of the complications associated with warfarin.
The risk of prosthetic endocarditis accrues to all prosthetic heart valve designs. Although the risk is quite low
and probably unrelated to differences in commercial
designs, the potential mandates antibiotic coverage of all
patients with mechanical aortic valves during operative
and dental procedures.
Nonstructural dysfunction of mechanical aortic valves
usually presents in one of two ways, predominantly
paravalvular leak or less frequently hemolysis. The incidence of paravalvular leak relates more to patient factors
such as heavily calciﬁed aortic annulus or technical
factors at the time of insertion than it does to differences
in commercial designs. There are various types of cloth
sewing rings available for some mechanical aortic valves
that may contribute to lowering the risk of paravalvular
leak.
Hemolysis due to mechanical aortic valves is probably
present at a low, but clinically insigniﬁcant, level in all
patients. Occasionally individual mechanical valves can
be associated with clinically signiﬁcant hemolysis, rarely
necessitating valve replacement. Hemolysis in a patient
with a mechanical aortic prosthesis may not be due to the
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valve itself, as there are obviously other medical causes of
hemolysis.
There are some hemodynamic issues with aortic
bileaﬂet designs that are of some hypothetic, if not clinical, concern. There is no orientation of a bileaﬂet prosthesis in the aortic annulus that is not associated with at
least some turbulence during systolic ﬂow. The orientation that places the axis of the two leaﬂets in the middle of
the noncoronary cusp yields the least turbulence.
Bileaﬂet mechanical valves also have some intentional,
built-in regurgitation during diastole, meant to wash
away microthrombi. Different commercial models of
bileaﬂet mechanical aortic valves all have different hinge
designs, some of which theoretically wash better during
diastole. In large prostheses this regurgitant fraction is
not insigniﬁcant. Theoretically the combination of
turbulence during systole and regurgitation during diastole contributes to energy loss for the left ventricle.
There are some disadvantageous features of mechanical
valves that are unique to their design, as compared with
bioprosthesis. When forced into a tight-ﬁtting annulus, the
leaﬂets may not function normally. Another is patientsensed noise. In occasional patients mechanical prostheses are associated with audible or sensed sounds
during virtually every heart beat. Some patients ﬁnd this
unnerving and completely unacceptable, whereas other
patients have found it to be reassuring.
Results
Primary, isolated AVR should be able to be performed
with certainly less than 5% mortality; in purely elective
situations, this should be 1% or less.
Retrospective literature review [158] suggests that the
linearized rates of valve-related complications for
mechanical aortic valve prostheses should be in the
following ranges:
Structural deterioration, 0% to 0.2% per patient-year
Nonstructural dysfunction, 0.2% to 0.5% per patientyear
Thromboembolism, 1.2% to 2.5% per patient-year
Anticoagulant-related bleeding, 1.0% to 2.5% per
patient-year
Composite thromboembolism and bleeding, 4.0% to
4.5% per patient-year
Prosthetic endocarditis, 0.4% to 1.0% per patient-year
6. Biological Valves—Recommendations
Class I
1. A bioprosthesis is recommended for AVR in
patients of any age who will not take anticoagulation, either warfarin or the direct factor Xa
or thrombin inhibitors or who have major medical
contraindications to anticoagulation [20]. (Level of
evidence C)
2. A bioprosthesis is recommended for AVR in patients
aged 65 years or more without risk factors for
thromboembolism [20]. (Level of evidence C)
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Class IIa
1. Patient preference is a reasonable consideration in the
selection of aortic valve prosthesis if appropriate
surgical counseling is carried out.
Class IIb
1. A bioprosthesis may be considered for AVR in
a woman of childbearing age who desires to have
children [20]. (Level of evidence C)
2. A bioprosthesis may be reasonable for AVR in
patients aged less than 65 years who elect to receive
this valve for lifestyle considerations after detailed
discussions of the risks of anticoagulation versus the
likelihood that AVR may be necessary in the future
[20]. (Level of evidence C)
Quality Measures
1. All patients should receive both gram-positive and
gram-negative prophylactic antibiotics before AVR
and broad-spectrum antibiotic strict prophylaxis
before any surgical, endoscopic, dental, or other
procedure associated with the chance of bacteremia.
2. All centers performing AVR should report their
results to a national database such as the STS ACSD.
3. To evaluate meaningfully the choice of appropriate
prosthesis it is imperative to have standardized
guidelines for reporting mortality and morbidity
after valve interventions [159]. Much of the confusion
and conﬂicting evidence comparing different valve
types derives from the heterogeneity of the patient
samples studied and the different deﬁnitions used
in reporting complications and structural valve
deterioration (SVD) rates. Freedom from reoperation
for SVD underestimates the true incidence of
SVD. Structural valve deterioration should represent
dysfunction determined by reoperation, autopsy,
or
clinical
investigation,
including
periodic
echocardiograms. It is also important to distinguish
between patient outcome versus valve outcome to
counsel individual patients on valve choice.
Performance of the prosthesis (valve-related events),
when looking at nonfatal complications, is usually
reported using the Kaplan-Meier actuarial method
with the number at risk at each interval indicated. The
Kaplan-Meier method, however, is designed for
population studies and overestimates the actual event
probability for an individual patient; therefore to
predict valve outcome for an individual patient, the
cumulative incidence (or observed cumulative
frequency) actual statistical method should be used.
These actual (cumulative incidence) estimates are
best suited for individual patient counseling and
patient management decisions [160].
4. ACE inhibitor therapy should be considered in
patients with low EF postoperatively.
There are several options for patients who chose
a biologic or tissue valve: Stented xenograft bioprosthesis,
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stentless bioprosthesis, homografts (or allografts), and
autografts (ie, the Ross procedure). The following
discussion is devoted to stented tissue bioprosthesis, as
the other biological options are covered elsewhere. There
was initial hope that stentless bioprosthesis would more
closely mimic the native aortic root, provide better
hemodynamics, favor more LV hypertrophy regression,
and be associated with longer valve durability, but this
has not yet translated into improved clinical outcomes
[161]. Unless independent aortic pathology or concern for
severe patient-prosthetic mismatch (PPM) necessitates
xenograft or homograft aortic root replacement, a stented
bioprosthesis should be the biologic valve of choice for
routine AVR in the elderly patients who cannot be safely
anticoagulated, and patients who select a biological valve
for lifestyle considerations.
Several stented bioprosthetic valves are available on
the market today for AVR and can be divided into porcine
valves, which consist of porcine aortic valve leaﬂets
mounted on stents (some of which are composite
construction eliminating the right coronary cusp with its
muscular shelf), and pericardial valves (mostly bovine,
although an equine pericardial valve is now available),
which are fabricated from sheets of pericardium mounted
either inside or outside the supporting stent frame. A new
category of sutureless and rapidly implantable bioprosthesis now have European CE marks and are
undergoing clinical evaluation.
There are several differences between tissue valve
types which are purported to confer advantages over their
counterparts. These can be divided broadly into stent
design and leaﬂet ﬁxation technique. Stents are made of
stainless steel, steel alloy, cobalt chromium alloys, titanium alloys, or plastic polymers. More recent designs
have modiﬁed the material and ﬂexibility of the annular
sewing ring and commissural stent posts, as well as
shortening the height of the posts for ease of implant. All
biologic valves leaﬂets undergo collagen cross-linking
with glutaraldehyde to block immune response and
increase tissue stabilization; however, this creates calcium
inﬂux as well as exposes residual phospholipids within
the cell membrane, which then serve as calcium binding
sites. To mitigate valve calciﬁcation most companies have
developed proprietary tissue treatments aimed at
removing residual glutaraldehyde or phospholipid
moieties to reduce calcium binding and hopefully
enhance durability. Among these are treatment with
alcohol and various antisurfactants but none has proved
superior to others.
For standard porcine and pericardial stented bioprosthetic valves, the internal diameter by intraoperative
sizing is equal to the selected labeled size of the valve
minus 4 mm to 6 mm after insertion; however, comparison data for ex-vivo sizes are typically larger. Hence,
a 21-mm labeled bioprosthetic valve may have an internal
size of 15 mm to 17 mm. For supraannular valves, the
internal size is 2 mm to 4 mm smaller. Hence, for
a labeled 21-mm valve the internal diameter may be
approximately 17 mm to 19 mm. Although aortic valve
sizers reﬂect the true external diameter of the
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bioprosthetic ring and struts with some variation in
shape, supraannular valves will often ﬁt when an intraannular would not ﬁt; however, care needs to be taken
that the coronary ostia do not become obstructed as the
supraannular sewing skirt can encroach upon low-lying
ostia. When sizing an annulus for a valve, surgeons
should initially use a sizer that loosely ﬁts until they
become comfortable with the limits of being able to ﬁt
a tight-ﬁtting valve.
Pros
Currently available stented bioprosthesis have several
advantages, but the main one is the hope to avoid the
need for long-term anticoagulation therapy. The thrombotic potential of biologic valves is much lower than their
mechanical counterparts. Because the risk of thromboembolic events is higher early postoperatively, current
ACCF/AHA guidelines recommend (as IIa) warfarin
therapy during the ﬁrst 3 months after bioprosthetic AVR
until the sewing ring is endothelialized, although many
major centers just rely on aspirin only [20]. This need for
warfarin has been called into question by many major
institutions. Currently, more than 30% of centers use
only 81 mg aspirin indeﬁnitely for patients in sinus
rhythm after bioprosthetic AVR. There are several
patient populations in which avoidance of long-term
anticoagulation is desirable, including women of childbearing age who wish to start a family and those whose
lifestyle or lack of reliable access to health care does not
allow frequent anticoagulation monitoring necessary for
safe indeﬁnite anticoagulation.
In general, rates of thromboembolic complications
(0.6% to 2.3% per year) are similar for carefully anticoagulated patients with mechanical valves and those
with bioprosthetic valves not on warfarin. The incidence
of high-intensity transient signals from the middle cerebral artery detected by transcranial Doppler is lower with
biological valves when compared with mechanical valves,
although the clinical importance of this is debated.
The main advantage is avoidance of long-term anticoagulation therapy, which should translate to a lower
risk of bleeding complications. The risk of major bleeding
with long-term anticoagulation is approximately 1% per
year; however, this signiﬁcantly increases with increasing
age. The CHADS2 score is a composite score reﬂecting
bleeding risk in which one point is assigned for congestive heath failure, hypertension, age 75 years, or diabetes mellitus, and two points for prior stroke or transient
ischemic attack. Individuals with a CHADS2 score of 3 or
greater have signiﬁcantly higher bleeding rates and may
not safely tolerate anticoagulation therapy. As a result,
some argue that for elderly patients or those patients at
high risk for bleeding who are already receiving warfarin
for another reason (eg, atrial ﬁbrillation), a biologic valve
still may be the most appropriate choice. Choice of
a mechanical valve in these patients exposes them to the
risk of anticoagulant-related bleeding as well as the risk
of thromboembolism and mechanical valve thrombosis
should anticoagulation therapy need to be stopped
during a major bleeding episode.
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The rates of hemolysis, considered “nonstructural valve
deterioration,” especially clinically signiﬁcant hemolysis,
are lower with biologic than mechanical valves.
Although the late postoperative rates of SVD are higher
with biologic valves compared with mechanical prostheses, the deterioration usually is gradually progressive
stenosis for pericardial valves, but occasionally leaﬂets
tears at the commissures may cause acute AR for porcine
bioprosthetic valves, allowing detection and monitoring
with regular routine echocardiographic follow-up. Echocardiographic evaluation of biologic valves should be
performed at discharge, at ﬁrst follow-up, and then at 3
years in the absence of clinical indication, or whenever
there is clinical suspicion of valve dysfunction. Structural
valve deterioration of modern mechanical valves is rare if
anticoagulation control is good; an exception is late pannus ingrowth.
Biological valves do not have any of the audible
metallic clicks that are associated with mechanical valves.
Finally, one advantage of a stented bioprosthesis in the
aortic position is ease of potential reoperation; it is less
complicated to do a redo AVR for SVD of a stented tissue
valve than is the case for a stentless tissue valve or
xenograft aortic root replacement or for homografts.
Whether the potential for transcatheter valve-in-valve
procedures should favor the more frequent use of biological valves, particularly in younger patients, is
unknown but debated.
Cons
The main disadvantage of biologic valves compared with
mechanical valves is their limited durability, which is
most common in younger patients. This exposes the
patient to the hemodynamic insult of progressive AS or
AR, or both, and eventual need for reoperation. All biologic valves eventually sustain SVD over time at some
nonlinear rate. Observational studies show that the SVD
rate for current porcine and bovine pericardial bioprosthesis used in the aortic position begins to accelerate
after approximately 10 years and continues to increase
thereafter in patients aged more than 65 years; the
shoulder on the freedom-from-SVD curve occurs much
earlier in younger patients, which limits the usefulness of
tissue valves in these patients. Other patient-related and
valve-related factors also increase the rate of bioprosthetic deterioration [4], for example, female sex,
larger valve size, and mitral position.
The age of the patient at the time of implantation is the
strongest predictor of accelerated SVD. Younger patients
have signiﬁcantly higher SVD rates. Fifteen years postoperatively, roughly 9% of patients aged more than 65
years of age, 26% of patients aged less than 65 years [7],
and nearly 40% of patients aged less than 40 years will
have sustained SVD. Certain other medical problems
such as end-stage renal disease, hyperparathyroidism,
and hypertension can also hasten the development of
SVD. In certain patient cohorts such as those on dialysis,
life expectancy is so bleak that concern about accelerated
SVD is moot and should not prevent them from receiving
a biologic valve. It is important not just to take into
S25
account the absolute age of the patient, but also their
expected biological life expectancy based on the severity
of cardiac dysfunction, other cardiac problems, medical
comorbidities, and their family history of longevity. There
is also no good evidence that statins or antiinﬂammatory
drugs can mitigate this deterioration.
The pathogenesis of SVD in biologic valves is largely
thought to be a degenerative process caused by calcium
inﬂux. Most companies have developed various proprietary
tissue treatments aimed at reducing calcium binding,
although some contemporary valves do not offer any
speciﬁc anticalciﬁcation treatment. In general, newer
generation tissue valves purport to have lower SVD rates
than do older bioprosthesis, but there have been no
controlled studies showing a difference in SVD rates
between different types of porcine valves. Several reports
have claimed lower valve deterioration rates in patients
who received bovine pericardial valves, but the deﬁnition
used in all of these studies is freedom from reoperation for
SVD, which underestimates the true SVD incidence.
Although there have been many retrospective studies
attempting to compare SVD rates among different types of
stented bioprosthesis, as of now there are too many confounding variables to make any conclusive statements about
relative durability between the porcine aortic and bovine
pericardial tissue valves used today in the aortic position.
It should be noted, however, that the mechanisms of
deterioration differ between porcine and pericardial
tissue valves. Porcine xenograft bioprosthesis tend to
develop dysplastic calciﬁcation in the leaﬂets near the
commissures (high-stress regions) which leads to leaﬂet
tears and sometimes sudden valvular regurgitation; this
can be detected clinically by a new murmur and
conﬁrmed by echocardiography. Pericardial xenograft
bioprosthesis also calcify, but typically in a diffuse
metaplastic manner across the leaﬂets that can lead to
occult severe AS without being detected by a new
murmur. The leaﬂets of both types of bioprosthesis may
also develop commissural calciﬁed fusion.
Some have hypothesized that immunologic, arteriosclerotic, and inﬂammatory processes are also involved in
SVD. There was a burst of initial enthusiasm for statin
therapy in the hope that their pleiotropic effects would
retard SVD, but this has not been proved to date.
Whether stented bioprosthesis used for AVR have
inferior hemodynamic performance compared with
mechanical valves has been debated. This has led to
concern about PPM, especially as biologic valves are
more commonly implanted in the elderly with calciﬁed,
smaller annuli. Clinical interest in PPM is based on the
reports of increased short- and long-term mortality rates
as well as less symptomatic improvement if an important
degree of PPM exists (0.8 or 0.9 cm2/m2) [162]. The EOA
index, which is obtained by dividing the valve EOA by the
patient’s body surface area (BSA), should be used for
identifying PPM. Many valve companies provide EOA
charts plotting valve size against BSA, which can be
used as a rough guide for choice of valve size and valve
type but should not supersede the clinical judgment of
the surgeon and taking into account the severity of the
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AS preoperatively and how physically active the patient is
likely to be postoperatively. Patient age, sex, LV function
and size, and hypertrophy must be considered in
choosing an appropriate device.
Stented bioprosthesis should be implanted in the
supraannular position to maximize the size of tissue valve
that can be implanted. Additionally, two new types of
pericardial xenograft valves have the bovine pericardial
cusps mounted outside the stent frame for the same
reason. Every effort should be made to avoid severe PPM
(EOA index <0.65 cm2/m2), including selecting a type of
bioprosthesis with superior hemodynamic characteristics
or resorting to annular enlargement or even complete
xenograft or homograft root replacement if necessary in
highly selected patients. Moderate PPM (0.8 or 0.9 cm2/
m2), however, is generally well tolerated. The patient’s
activity level, age, sex, ventricular hypertrophy (LV mass),
ventricular function, BSA, and severity of AS all should be
taken into account. The risk-to-beneﬁt ratio of an annular
enlargement procedure to avoid moderate PPM is
acceptable in younger patients who can be expected to
engage in vigorous physical activities, whereas it would
not be prudent in an elderly patient who is sedentary.
The presence of the stents in bioprosthetic tissue valve
mounting frame leads to a higher proﬁle substitute valve,
more so for porcine tissue valves than pericardial valves,
particularly at the nadir of the frame. This hypothetically
increases the risk of coronary ostial obstruction. Some
tissue valve designs have minimized this with lower
proﬁle struts to facilitate implantation. Orienting the
struts with the native commissures will generally avoid
ostial obstruction in native tricuspid aortic valves. The
aortic annulus in patients with bicuspid aortic valves who
tend to be younger can be markedly ellipsoidal in shape.
Patients with a bicuspid aortic valve frequently also have
the left main coronary ostium located more rightward
(straight posteriorly) such that the coronaries arise about
180 degrees apart, which must be considered when
positioning the struts of the bioprosthesis.
Prosthetic valve endocarditis is a risk for patients with
any type of artiﬁcial heart valve, and there is no documented difference in this risk between mechanical and
tissue valves over the long term. Although the incidence
of prosthetic valve endocarditis is low, after the initial 90day high-hazard phase, aggressive antibiotic prophylaxis
for all patients after prosthetic or bioprosthetic AVR is
mandatory. Prosthetic valve endocarditis, especially early
active prosthetic valve endocarditis, can prove to be
a devastating and often fatal complication.
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predicted operative mortality risk for a 70 year old
without any comorbidities is 0.8% for a male and 1.2% for
a female; for an 80-year-old without any comorbidities, it
is 1.3% for a male and 2.0% for a female [164].
Nonstructural valve dysfunction, which includes any
abnormality not intrinsic to the valve, includes hemolysis
(incidence close to 0), signiﬁcant paravalvular leak (1% to 2%
of patients at 1-year follow-up) [165], and PPM (risk of severe
PPM 2% to 10% of all patients) [162]. Thromboembolic rates
with biologic valves in the aortic position are approximately
0.6% to 2.3% per patient-year. Prosthetic valve endocarditis
rates are 0.5% per patient-year [166].
Future of Biological Valves
With the advent of TAVR in very high risk or inoperable
patients with AS, there has been much talk about
potential “valve-in-valve” implantation as a minimally
invasive solution for redo AVR operations when SVD of
a bioprosthesis occurs. There have been successful
transapical valve-in-valve TAVR cases reported for
a failing aortic tissue valve (both stented and stentless)
[167, 168], although there is concern for the potential of
PPM. Measured postimplantation gradients across the
transcatheter heart valve appear to be high after TAVR in
surgically implanted valves smaller than 23-mm external
diameter. Depending on the speciﬁc type of bioprosthesis
used initially, valve-in-valve TAVR may not be successful
unless the original surgical bioprosthesis was 23 mm or
larger given the limited sizes of commercially available
transcatheter percutaneous valves available today. The
smaller transcatheter heart valve prosthesis being developed will address the size problem but not the PPM
problem as internal space is quite limited inside stented
bioprosthesis. It remains unknown how many patients
will be eligible for this potential treatment of SVD in the
future, but valve-in-valve TAVR in the context of a failing
AVR bioprosthesis has been shown to be technically
feasible.
7. Enlargement of the Aortic
Annulus—Recommendations
Class I
1. Patch enlargement of the aortic annulus should be
considered when the aortic annulus does not allow
implantation of a heart valve with EOA index more
than 0.65 cm2/m2 [169–171]. (Level of evidence B)
Class IIb
Results
Data harvested from the STS ACSD from 2002 to 2006
show the operative mortality risk in the United States for
isolated AVR is 3.2% [84]. In patients undergoing
concomitant AVR and CABG, the STS operative
mortality risk for the same time period was almost
double (5.6%) [163]. Operative risk increases slightly
with patient age in the contemporary era, but
considerably so if associated comorbidities are present.
According to the online STS-PROM risk calculator, the
1. Patch enlargement of the aortic annulus may be
considered when the aortic annulus does not allow
implantation of the heart valve with EOA index of 0.85
cm2/m2. (Level of evidence C)
The development of operative techniques to enlarge
the aortic annulus and LV outﬂow tract preceded the
knowledge of PPM introduced by Rahimtoola in 1978 [12].
Enlargement of the aortic annulus is performed to allow
implantation of larger prosthetic valves to optimize the
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AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
effective aortic valve oriﬁce. Surgeons who enlarge the
aortic annulus to implant larger prosthetic valves must
have a sound knowledge of the anatomy of the aortic
root and its relationship with surrounding structures.
The Konno procedure, or aortoventriculoplasty, involves
incising the aortic root through the right aortic sinus
and into the muscular interventricular septum [172].
This incision creates a muscular ventricular septal
defect and by closing the defect with a patch, the aortic
annulus is enlarged proportionally to depth of the
septal incision and width of the patch. A second patch
is needed to close the right ventricular outﬂow tract
(RVOT).
Alternative methods to enlarge the aortic annulus
involve incisions in the ﬁbrous portion of the LV outﬂow
tract. In the Manouguian procedure, an incision is made
through the commissure of the left and noncoronary
cusps and extended into the subcommissural triangle and
anterior leaﬂet of the mitral valve [173]. The dome of the
left atrium has to be opened when this incision is
extended in to the mitral valve. A patch is used to close
the incision and increase the diameter of the aortic
annulus. A separate patch may be needed to close the
dome of the left atrium. The Nicks procedure for
enlargement of the aortic root involves an aortotomy in
the middle of the noncoronary aortic sinus, through the
aortic annulus and into the intervalvular ﬁbrous body,
and may be extended into the anterior leaﬂet of the
mitral valve [174]. Annular enlargement is made with
a patch as described above. Another method to implant
a prosthetic valve one size larger than the size of the
annulus is to suture it in a supraannular position [175].
Most currently used bioprosthetic aortic valves are
designed to be secured in the supra-annular position.
Alternatively, the midsection of the annulus in each sinus
can be excised to gain one size larger valve.
The Konno procedure is far more effective in enlarging
the diameter of the LV outﬂow tract and aortic annulus
than the other procedures but it is also more complicated.
It is frequently used in children and teenagers with
congenitally small roots but less so in adults except for
reoperations in young patients with PPM. The procedure
can be done with either a homograft or mechanical
valves. The Manouguian and the Nicks techniques of
patch enlargement of the aortic annulus allow to upsize
the prosthetic heart valve by one or two sizes. Attempts to
further increase the diameter of the aortic annulus by
suturing wider patches deforms the LV outﬂow tract and
causes so much disturbance of ﬂow that may not improve
the hemodynamic of the prosthetic valve.
Another option that optimizes EOA in patients with
small aortic annulus is replacement of the aortic root with
a bioprosthetic stentless valve or a homograft. However,
such procedures must balance the potential beneﬁt of
implanting a larger valve against the possible increase in
operative morbidity and mortality.
It has been shown that the diameter of the aortic
annulus is closely related to the patient’s BSA [176]. Thus,
for a man with BSA of 1.71 m2 to 1.80 m2 the mean aortic
S27
annulus diameter is 21.5 2.0 mm, and for a BSA of 2.01
m2 to 2.10 m2 the annulus is 23.0 1.8 mm based on
relaxed aortic root size in cadavers. Women have
slightly smaller aortic annulus than men. Patients who
need AVR may have an aortic annulus of normal or
abnormal diameter depending on the valve pathology,
for example the diameter may vary markedly in patients
with bicuspid valves.
Patient-prosthesis mismatch has been deﬁned based
on the EOA index of the prosthetic valve [169, 170]. It
has been determined that the ideal EOA index should
be more than 0.85 cm2/m2. Moderate PPM is deﬁned
as EOA index of more than 0.65 cm2/m2 to 0.85 cm2/
m2 or less, and severe PPM as EOA index of 0.65 cm2/
m2 or less. To prevent PPM, it is important to match
the size of the prosthetic aortic valve EOA to the
patient’s BSA. The patient’s BMI is also an important
consideration.
The clinical relevance of PPM has been debated in the
literature, with some studies unable to demonstrate
a relationship between valve size and outcome [177–179]
and others suggesting that PPM increases early and late
mortality, decreased exercise tolerance, and decreased LV
mass regression [169, 171, 179–182]. Patient-prosthesis
mismatch may be particularly important in patients
with impaired LV function [169]. Surgeons must therefore
be familiar with the EOAs of various mechanical and
bioprosthetic valves that they use and at the time of
AVR, and an attempt should be made to avoid severe
PPM.
Surgeons who routinely used patch enlargement of the
aortic annulus during AVR believe this procedure can be
added with minimal increase operative mortality and
morbidity [183, 184].
8. Homograft (Allograft) Replacement of the Aortic
Valve—Recommendations
Class I
1. Homograft replacement of the aortic root should be
considered for patients with extensive active endocarditic destruction of the aortic annulus [185–189].
(Level of evidence B)
2. For patients undergoing homograft replacement of
the aortic valve, a total root replacement technique is
recommended [190, 191]. (Level of evidence B)
Class IIa
1. Homograft replacement of the aortic valve can be
considered for patients with endocarditis without
annular destruction, especially when the potential for
reinfection is elevated [14, 192, 193]. (Level of evidence B)
2. Homograft replacement of the aortic valve can be
considered for patients undergoing reoperative aortic
root surgery in whom anatomic or physiologic
constraints mitigate against more conventional
composite graft replacement or for whom life
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expectancy is less than the projected durability of the
homograft [194–196]. (Level of evidence B)
Class III
1. Homografts are not recommended for routine AVR.
Currently available xenografts have excellent hemodynamics, durability comparable to homografts and
are simpler to replace [197–199]. (Level of evidence B)
Quality Measures
1. All patients undergoing homograft implantation
should receive perioperative prophylactic antibiotics
with broad spectrum coverage.
2. All patients with a potential for CAD or coronary
anomalies should undergo preoperative evaluation of
their coronary anatomy by coronary angiography.
3. Annual transthoracic echocardiogram to evaluate for
AS and AR.
4. Antibiotic prophylaxis against endocarditis for prosthetic valves.
5. ACE inhibitor therapy should be considered for
patients with low EF postoperatively.
The ﬁrst successful homograft (allograft) replacement
of the aortic valve was reported by Ross in 1962. At that
time, the allograft held the promise of being the ideal
aortic valve substitute. The ensuing 5 decades of experience with this prosthesis has demonstrated key strengths
and weaknesses and has helped to deﬁne its current role
in the surgical management of aortic valve disease. In the
United States over the past 20 years, homografts have
been used in less than 3% of AVRs annually. That ﬁgure
has decreased in recent experience, and the homograft is
currently used in approximately 0.2% of AVRs, mostly for
endocarditis [200].
Pros
The aortic homograft is human tissue with human
anatomy. It has a central oriﬁce with virtually normal
hemodynamics and is associated with low transvalvular
gradients both at rest and at exercise. This characteristic is
of value when treating patients who wish to maintain
a physically active lifestyle or younger patients with small
aortic roots where the potential for PPM is greater. The
potential for thromboembolic problems is negligible and
they do not require anticoagulation therapy. Because of
its natural pliability, when used as a root replacement, it
can conform more readily to deformities and asymmetries present in the recipient root. The homograft’s most
compelling advantage is that it is devoid of any prosthetic
material, which confers an apparent resistance to infection. Additionally, the attached anterior mitral leaﬂet and
muscular cuff can be used to correct defects caused by
advanced endocarditis as characterized by extensive
annular abscess, ﬁstulas, and annular disruption. It is in
the management of advanced native and prosthetic valve
endocarditis that the homograft has demonstrated its
greatest utility [185–189].
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Cons
Homograft implantation is technically more demanding
than mechanical or bioprosthetic stented AVR. Three
techniques have been employed over time: subcoronary
or “freehand” implant, root inclusion cylinder, and total
root replacement with coronary ostial reimplantation.
Although in select hands the subcoronary technique has
produced excellent results [201, 202] and also has been
shown to simplify the inevitable reoperation, most experience with this technique has been less favorable owing
to the development of AR [191, 203]. This is related to the
judgment required to replicate proper commissural
spacing and alignment and also related to changes in the
geometry of the retained native aortic root. The root
inclusion cylinder maintains aortic valve geometry but
occupies greater space within the native aortic root, but is
useful when large abscesses are present in conjunction
with reoperations. Valve sizing is important and there is
the potential for hematoma formation between the native
aortic wall and the homograft cylinder. Today, total root
replacement with coronary ostial mobilization is most
commonly employed because it has demonstrated more
reproducible results over a spectrum of pathology, bears
similarity with the technique for composite valve grafts,
does not require precise valve sizing, and can accommodate native annular deformities [190]. Hemostasis can
be more challenging than with the other two techniques,
especially in the setting of extensive endocarditic annular
destruction.
Allowing that worldwide homograft experience is
adversely skewed by a greater representation of endocarditis cases, it is clear that even in experienced centers
early morbidity and mortality are greater than for AVR
with conventional prostheses [14, 192, 193, 201]. Furthermore, the homograft root tends to calcify extensively over
time [204], and reoperations are technically challenging
and associated with greater perioperative risk.
Homografts are not “immunologically privileged” and
residual cells and native proteins elicit a low-grade
immunologic and inﬂammatory response that contributes to structural degeneration over time [205]. Indeed,
the greatest disappointment with the homograft
experience relates to the issue of SVD. Initially hoped
for extended durability has not been realized and is
comparable to that of pericardial valves (Fig 22).
The two most commonly employed methods of preservation are, one, cryopreservation in a solution of antibiotics and dimethyl sulfoxide and, two, fresh homografts
(stored at 4 C in a solution of antibiotics) that are
implanted within weeks of harvest. Cryopreserved valves
are more readily available and most commonly used.
Although fresh storage results initially in more viable
cells and potentially a greater immune response, it
appears that there is no signiﬁcant difference in durability
between these two methods of preservation. As with
xenografts, patient age at implantation is the single
greatest predictor of SVD. Importantly, when adjusted for
age at implantation, the durability of homografts closely
parallels that of second and third generation xenografts
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S29
SVD at 10 years after operation approximates 74%, 82%,
88%, and 92% for ages 35, 45, 55, and 65 years, respectively. At 15 years after operation approximately 35%,
51%, 63%, and 74% of patients aged 35, 45, 55, and 65
years are still free from explant [14, 193, 206]. Freedom
from recurrent endocarditis in several larger series of
patients undergoing replacement for endocarditis is
excellent and ranges from 82% to 92% at 10 years
postoperatively [185, 186, 188, 189].
9. Stentless Aortic Valves
Fig 22. Relationship between age of patient for pericardial or
homograft valve and the risk of reoperation within 12 years of
surgery. (SVD ¼ structural valve deterioration). This graph is useful
for discussing with patients the risk of reoperation for biological
aortic valve replacement.
[14, 193, 198, 199]. In a recently reported and rare
randomized study comparing homografts to the stentless
xenograft, homografts showed greater rates of SVD and
need for reoperation at mid-term follow-up [197].
Finally, although the utility of the homograft in treating
cases of advanced endocarditis is well established, several
centers have reported excellent short and long-term
freedom from recurrent infection with the simpler
method of mechanical or bioprosthetic valve replacement
and annular repair with bovine pericardial patch in the
absence of abscesses or extensive tissue destruction or
composite graft root replacement [194–196].
Results
Precise comparison and analysis of results is
confounded by (1) the variability in methods of homograft preservation and implantation used by and among
reporting centers over time; (2) varying prevalence of
endocarditis in patient cohorts; (3) study time frames
often spanning decades; and (4) the lack of randomized
trials. Operative mortality for isolated homograft root
replacement is higher even in experienced centers, and
ranges from 2% to 8% [14, 191–193, 198, 199, 201, 202].
Overall survival after operation ranges from 50% to 81%
and from 35% to 58% at 10 and 20 years, respectively [14,
191–193, 198, 201, 202]. Valve thrombosis is virtually
nonexistent and thromboembolic events average 0.5%
per patient-year. Ten-year and 20-year freedom from
thromboembolism is approximately 93% and 88%,
respectively. Homograft durability is primarily dependent on age at implantation, and median time to reoperation for SVD approximates 12, 14, and 16 years for
a 30-, 45-, and 60-year-old patient, respectively. In the
largest single reported series to date [198], freedom from
reoperation at 20 years was 47% for patients aged less
than 21 years, 85% for those between 21 and 40 years,
81% for those aged 41 to 60 years, and 94% for
patients aged more than 60 years. However, metaanalysis and microsimulation using more contemporaneous data suggest that freedom from reoperation for
Stentless heterograft valves were developed to take
advantage of the physiologic nature of homograft valves
with a more standardized method of implantation. They
are constructed from porcine roots with minimal cloth
externally for accepting sutures and tissue ingrowth.
There are no rigid components or true sewing ring.
Initially stentless valves were used in the subcoronary
coronary position for AVR. However, a full root implementation was developed to allow for full root implantation and also mitigate early subcoronary valve failures
due to native aortic root dilation. They can be implanted
as subcoronary implants, full root replacements, or
uncommonly, inclusion roots.
The subcoronary placement of this valve is designed to
enable conformation to the patient’s own aortic root,
reproducing a normal valve/root complex. Clinical
studies have shown residual transvalvular gradients
similar to native valves and superior to stented valves at
early to midterm follow-up [207]. Exercise gradients were
also superior with the stentless valves at midterm followup indicating the valve may perform better under physiological stresses than stented valves [208]. That may
eliminate the theoretical risk of PPM in larger patients
with small stented bioprosthesis that have high
transprosthetic gradients [209]. Additionally, more
physiologic laminar ﬂow patterns the sinuses of
Valsalva have been observed in stentless valves and are
postulated to decrease the opening and closing stresses
on the valve leaﬂets [210]. Among patients requiring full
root replacement, porcine bio roots have excellent
hemodynamics and do not require life-long anticoagulation therapy.
The major concerns regarding stentless prostheses
relate to risk related to increased technical complexity of
implant, particularly versus simple AVR, issues regarding
long-term durability, and concern for the safety of valvein-valve TAVR.
9.1. Subcoronary Stentless Valve Implantation for Aortic
Valve Replacement—Recommendations
CLASS I
1. Before subcoronary stentless AVR, all patients who
have known CAD, have had a prior myocardial
infarction, have angina pectoris as a symptom, or are
more than 45 years of age, should have preoperative
screening of their coronary arteries, by direct coronary angiography. (Level of evidence C)
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2. Intraoperative TEE is recommended to check the
valve function. (Level of evidence C)
3. Prophylactic antibiotics for any invasive procedure,
including dentistry, are recommended. (Level of
evidence C)
CLASS IIB
4. Stentless valves may be a reasonable prosthesis choice
in patients aged more than 70 years with nonregurgitant, trileaﬂet AS who desire a tissue prosthesis
and are at risk for PPM. (Level of evidence C)
QUALITY MEASURES
1. Prophylactic gram-positive and gram-negative
coverage should be used at the time of surgery.
2. Intraoperative
echocardiography
should
be
performed.
3. Postoperative aspirin or clopidogrel should be
administered.
4. Patients should be discharged on beta-blockers.
5. ACE inhibitor therapy should be considered in
patients with low EF postoperatively.
PROS Stentless valves in the subcoronary position provide
excellent hemodynamics with gradients unmatched by
traditional stented prostheses and have no requirement
for long-term anticoagulation therapy. These excellent
hemodynamics are particularly important in small aortic
root where a stented prosthesis may have a high residual
gradient. They are more readily available than homografts. They do not require obligatory anticoagulation.
CONS Subcoronary
stentless valve implantation is
substantially more technically demanding and requires
signiﬁcantly longer cardiac ischemic times than traditional stented AVR. Long-term durability of these valves
remains unknown and there are concerns of early structural and nonstructural deterioration. Stentless valves
have been shown to have higher failure rates due to root
dilation splaying out the commissures and causing
insufﬁciency in patients with preoperative AR or bicuspid
pathology, although this may be mitigated with preservation of the porcine noncoronary sinus to ﬁxate two of
the commissures. There are theoretical concerns that
stentless valves may be more prone to coronary coverage
during TAVR for prosthetic failure due to their leaﬂet
height and lack of sinuses or a stent. Stentless valve
reoperations are reported to have higher mortality than
other aortic valve reoperations and frequently require
complex root replacement. Nevertheless, the calciﬁcation
is less than that of a homograft.
RESULTS In a well-designed randomized trial of 99 patients
comparing subcoronary stentless valve implantation to
a traditional pericardial prosthesis, despite slightly
improved gradients in the stentless group, there was no
demonstrated beneﬁt in LV mass regression or physical
activity status between groups [211]. Recent 10-year
follow-up of these patients conﬁrmed better hemodynamics in the stentless group but no difference in LV
remodeling or physical activity [161]. These ﬁndings have
Ann Thorac Surg
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been conﬁrmed in multiple small trials [212, 213]. Durability of stentless valves in the subcoronary position has
been reported to be lower than 80% at 8 to 10 years,
implying poorer durability than traditional stented prostheses [214]. Freedom from thromboembolism and
endocarditis are typically greater than 90% at 7 to 10
years [214].
9.2. Full Aortic Root Replacement With a Stentless
Prosthesis—Recommendations
CLASS I
1. Before aortic root replacement, all patients who have
known CAD, have had a prior myocardial infarction,
have angina pectoris as a symptom, or are aged more
than 45 years, should have preoperative screening of
their coronary arteries by direct coronary angiography. (Level of evidence C)
2. Intraoperative TEE is required to check the valve
function. (Level of evidence C)
3. Prophylactic antibiotics for any invasive procedure
including dentistry are recommended. (Level of
evidence C)
CLASS IIA
1. Stentless aortic valve full root replacement may be
considered in patients aged more than 70 years with
aortic root dilation. (Level of evidence C)
CLASS IIB
1. Stentless aortic valve full root replacement may be
considered in patients aged more than 70 years at
high risk for PPM who desire a tissue prosthesis.
(Level of evidence B)
QUALITY MEASURES
1. Prophylactic gram-positive and gram-negative
coverage should be used at the time of surgery.
2. Intraoperative
echocardiography
should
be
performed.
3. Postoperative aspirin or clopidogrel should be
administered.
4. Patients should be discharged on beta-blockers.
5. ACE inhibitor therapy should be considered in
patients with low EF postoperatively.
Implantation of a stentless root prosthesis is
usually performed as a traditional root implant with
interrupted pledgeted sutures and coronary button
reimplantation that is intuitive to perform for most
cardiac surgeons. A running suture technique may also
be used although this is a more technically demanding
procedure. Stentless roots provide excellent hemodynamics. In cases of extremely small roots in larger
patients, full root implantation may be used for the
purposes of aortic root replacement to implant a larger
prosthesis size despite lack of intrinsic aneurysmal root
pathology. Similarly, a stentless prosthesis may be used
in the setting of aortic valve endocarditis with periannular abscess.
PROS
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AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
Stentless aortic roots are technically more difﬁcult
to implant than a stented composite root and lack a robust
sewing ring to provide a blood-tight seal in diseased or
infected annular tissue. Indeed, the cloth sewing ring may
make them more prone to recurrent infection than
homografts. They also have a greater potential for
distortion as they lack a rigid stent. The long-term durability of stentless valves remains unknown and reoperations are complex. There are theoretical concerns that
stentless valves may be more prone to coronary coverage
during TAVR for prosthetic failure owing to their leaﬂet
height and lack of stent.
RESULTS Perioperative (30-day) mortality in experienced
centers is typically between 2% and 4% for elective operations although in early series it exceeded 10% [215]. In a
randomized study of 166 patients, within 8 years of
implant, homografts showed signiﬁcantly poorer freedom
from structural failure than the stentless prosthesis
for full root replacement [197]. This and several other
studies have shown more than 95% freedom from
reoperation and more than 85% freedom from
echocardiographic valve dysfunction at 7 to 10 years of
follow-up with preserved low gradients [197, 216].
Freedom from thromboembolic events and prosthetic
endocarditis are generally greater than 90% over the 7 to 10
years [197]. Although reoperation is rare over the medium
term, longer term outcomes are still unknown.
Reoperations for failed bio roots are purported to have
high operative mortality [217].
CONS
10. Pulmonary Autograft (Ross Procedure)—
Recommendations
Class I
1. The Ross procedure is recommended in infants and
small children for whom no satisfactory alternative
valve substitute exists. (Level of evidence C)
Class IIb
1. The Ross procedure may be considered in older
children and young adults because of low operative
risk, but patients and their families must be informed
of the possible need for reoperation which increases
over time. (Level of evidence C)
Class III
1. The Ross procedure is not recommended for
middle-aged or older adults when suitable alternatives to autograft replacement of the aortic valve are
available with comparable results and without the
need for replacement of the RVOT, as the latter
adds the additional risk of pulmonary valve
dysfunction and subsequent replacement. (Level of
evidence C)
2. The Ross procedure is not recommended for
patients with bicuspid valves and AR or aortic
dilation if other alternatives are available. (Level of
evidence C)
S31
Quality Measures
1. Patients aged 45 years or more or patients who are
younger with risk factors for CAD undergoing the
Ross procedure should have preoperative coronary
artery angiography.
2. Patients undergoing the Ross procedure should be
counseled about the risk for reoperation on both the
pulmonary autograft and the pulmonary homograft.
3. Annual TTE should be performed to monitor the size
of the aortic root and ascending aorta and the function
of the autograft and homograft valves.
4. Appropriate prophylaxis against endocarditis should
be performed for invasive procedures.
5. ACE inhibitor drug therapy should be considered in
patients with low EF postoperatively.
The pulmonary autograft (Ross procedure) for
replacement of the aortic valve was introduced by Dr
Donald Ross in l967. It involves replacement of the aortic
valve or aortic root with the pulmonary valve, which is
excised en bloc from the RVOT. A pulmonary homograft
is most commonly used to replace the RVOT. Substantial
experience with the procedure has been accumulated
over the past 25 years.
Pros
At experienced centers, the procedure can be accomplished with extremely low mortality in selected young
adults and children [15, 218–226]. Ten-year survival is
excellent, more than 90%, and approaches that for ageand sex-matched populations. Hemodynamic performance is excellent, anticoagulation is not required,
thromboembolic events are rare, and infection infrequent. It is an important therapeutic option for infants
and children where alternative substitutes perform
poorly [225, 226].
Cons
Long-term follow-up has demonstrated progressive
dilation of the autograft when used as a root replacement,
neoaortic valve regurgitation, and need for reoperation
on the autograft as well as on the allograft in the RVOT
[15, 218–224, 226]. Use of the root inclusion rather than the
root replacement technique (the most widely utilized) to
prevent autograft dilation has not reduced the rate of
reoperation [222, 224]. The risk of dilation appears to be
increased in patients with bicuspid valves, particularly if
associated with AR or aortic dilation [224].
Results
Operative mortality in the largest reported series has ranged
between 0.5% and 3.9% [15, 218–224, 226]. Major postoperative complications were infrequent. Minimal gradients
have been observed across the autografts and these remain
stable. Mild to moderate gradients exist across the valve
substitutes in the RVOT, and some become sufﬁciently
severe to require percutaneous or open surgical procedures
for correction [15, 218–224, 226]. Ten-year survival has
ranged between 92% and 98% and is remarkably consistent
among centers [218–224]. Survival approaches that for
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age-and sex-matched populations [219, 220, 224]. Among
children requiring AVR, use of the Ross procedure confers
a survival advantage over mechanical valves in younger
children but not in young adults [225, 226].
The principal limitations of the procedure are
progressive dilation of the autograft at the sinus and
commissural levels with the root replacement technique,
neoaortic valve regurgitation with both the root replacement and inclusion techniques, and the need for reoperation on the autograft and the homograft in the RVOT.
The percentage of patients free from reoperation on the
autograft at 10 years varies from 75% to 94% among the
large reported series [218–222, 224]. Longer follow-up
from the largest reported series of patients (n ¼ 487) reported by Elkins and colleagues [221] indicates
a continued decline in the number of patients free of
reoperation or valve-related death (86% at 10 years and
74% at 16 years). Freedom from reoperation on the
pulmonary allograft in the RVOT is better and more
consistent, ranging from 90% to 97% at 10 years [218–224].
Freedom from any reoperation is reported less
frequently, and varies from 73% to 90% in four series at 10
years [218, 219, 223, 224].
Endocarditis occurs infrequently (25 of 1,660 patients
[1.5%]) with data suitable for analysis in the large series
[218–224]. Major thromboembolic episodes (principally
stroke) occurred in 11 of the 1,160 patients (0.7%), and in
several instances were associated with the development
of endocarditis.
The availability of bioprosthetic aortic valve substitutes
that have acceptable hemodynamic characteristics, do not
require anticoagulant therapy, and have comparable late
rates of reoperation on the aortic valve or root, calls into
question the role of the Ross procedure for all but infants
and small children for whom no suitable alternative valve
substitute is available.
11. Balloon Aortic
Valvuloplasty—Recommendations
Class IIa
1. BAV can be useful as bridge to AVR in hemodynamically unstable adult patients with severe AS
where immediate AVR is not feasible. (Level of
evidence C)
2. BAV should be considered for patients with contra
indications to AVR who can potentially be bridged to
AVR or TAVR in future. (Level of evidence C)
3. BAV should be considered in severely symptomatic
patients with multiple comorbidities where contribution of AS to symptomatology such as chronic
pulmonary disease or poor LV function, remains
unclear. (Level of evidence C)
Class IIb
1. BAV may be reasonable in severely symptomatic
patients where AVR is not an option for symptom
relief. (Level of evidence C)
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2. BAV may be considered in patients with symptomatic
severe AS who require urgent major noncardiac
surgery. (Level of evidence C)
3. BAV may be considered as a palliative measure
in individual cases when surgery is contraindicated because of severe comorbidities. (Level of
evidence C)
4. Hemodynamic assessment including cardiac output,
aortic, LV and pulmonary pressures may be considered before, during and after the procedure. (Level of
evidence C)
5. Rapid ventricular pacing may be performed to stabilize balloon during inﬂation unless self seating
dumbbell shaped or other speciﬁcally designed
balloons are available that do not require pacing.
(Level of evidence C)
Quality Measures
1. Candidacy for AVR should be thoroughly assessed in
collaboration with cardiac surgery.
2. Assessment of annular diameter and preprocedural
AR should be carefully made with appropriate
imaging.
3. Vascular access should be carefully evaluated with
angiography before insertion of the closure device
and a large sheath.
4. Stepwise dilation of the aortic valve can be used to
achieve desired hemodynamic improvement.
5. Hemodynamic monitoring during BAV should
include aortic diastolic pressure, LV ﬁlling pressures
and cardiac output.
6. Procedural outcomes with special attention to groin
complications, AR, and procedural mortality should
be monitored.
7. Patients should be monitored for the rate at which the
patients are bridged to surgical AVR or TAVR.
Balloon aortic valvuloplasty is performed mainly to
bridge high-risk patients to surgical AVR or TAVR.
Reasons for bridging include temporary contraindications
to valve replacement (sepsis, severe debilitation, acute
neurological event, coagulopathy, congestive heart
failure, ventilator dependence etc.), signiﬁcant other
cardiac lesions (coronary, mitral valve, tricuspid valve,
myocardial disease) where relative contribution of AS to
heart failure remains questionable, or in patients with
severe noncardiac comorbidities where role of AS in
presenting symptoms is difﬁcult to determinate (eg,
severe lung disease, cirrhosis, severe debilitation, etc)
[227]. Infrequently, BAV can be used for patients with
symptomatic severe AS who require urgent major
noncardiac surgery. Rarely, it can be helpful for
palliation in adult patients with AS in whom AVR
cannot be performed because of serious comorbid
conditions, although short-lived improvement makes
such an effort a temporary success. Sometimes BAV is
helpful to assess the contribution of AS to respiratory
failure when combined with severe chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease. A marked improvement suggests that
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AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
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AS is a major contributor although lack of improvement is
not very speciﬁc for pulmonary problems.
Balloon aortic valvuloplasty can be performed either
with retrograde or antegrade approach [228, 229]. The
retrograde approach entails femoral arterial access. In the
antegrade approach from the femoral vein, a transseptal
puncture is performed and the aortic valve is approached
through the mitral valve going antegrade through the left
ventricle.
inoperable patients have been successfully accomplished with very similar risks and outcomes as the ﬁrst
BAV, but subsequent BAV procedures have less success.
The recently reported PARTNER B trial suggested
survival to 2 years was improved in medically treated
patients who also underwent BAV for AV, although the
merits of advocating BAV in patients not eligible for
TAVR is debatable [81].
Pros
12. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
Balloon aortic valvuloplasty provides the only treatment
option for hemodynamically unstable patients who are
not candidates for surgical or transcatheter AVR. Hemodynamic improvement is rapid which provides an
opportunity to manage comorbidities while more deﬁnitive valve replacement is planned.
Retrograde BAV is technically easier but requires
reasonable groin access. Antegrade BAV can be performed
in patients with poor arterial access but can be more challenging especially in patients with small left ventricles,
severe mitral regurgitation or hemodynamic instability.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement has been used
worldwide in more than 40,000 cases to date at the time of
writing, using balloon expandable and self-expanding
valves. This extensive experience suggests similar
procedural success. Introduction into the United States is
relatively recent with the completion of the PARTNER
trial using a balloon expandable valve and the FDA
approval for nonoperative patients. The US Pivotal trial
for a self-expanding valve is under way and was expected
to complete enrollment in 2012. Guidelines can only be
constructed for approved devices, thus limiting the
committee despite extensive data from abroad. The
guidelines for TAVR are thus constructed with this in
mind and reﬂect what is currently allowed in the United
States and may be incomplete outside this country. With
the completion of current and future trials and potential
FDA approvals, the committee may issue an addendum
to these guidelines as appropriate.
Cons
Procedural efﬁcacy is only moderate with a typical AVA
of less than 1.0 cm2. Procedural risk is also not trivial and
depending on the patient population there can be as high
as 10% 30-day mortality with the procedure. Further, the
procedural beneﬁts are short lived with most patients
restenosing in 6 months.
There are several improvements to the procedure that
may help with each of the above issues. With rapid
pacing of the ventricle and use of larger balloons, an AVA
of more than 1.0 cm2 is feasible in increasingly larger
number of patients although conclusive data are lacking.
Mortality can be reduced by better management of the
vascular access site. Restenosis risk is still a problem
but since the most common indication of this procedure
is a bridge to more deﬁnitive therapy, it may not be
a fundamental limitation. Conversely, use of BAV as
a stand-alone procedure has limited value unless
combined with bridging to surgical AVR or TAVR.
Balloon aortic valvuloplasty combined with radiation has
not received much acceptance.
Results
Procedural success is classically deﬁned as more than
25% increase in AVA or more than 50% reduction in
mean aortic gradient. Procedural mortality (1% to 5%) is
primarily from AR, and 30-day mortality (6% to 10%)
results from persistent heart failure along with other
comorbidities [227, 230–236]. One-year mortality in
patients not bridged to AVR is 40% to 60%, very similar
to the estimated mortality of symptomatic AS patients
treated with medical management alone. Serious
vascular complications rates were reported to be more
than 20% in the past, but with recent improvements in
closure devices and availability of smaller proﬁle
balloons, these rates are in 1% to 2% range [237–239].
Repeat valvuloplasties for recurrent symptoms in
12.1. TAVR With the Balloon-Expandable
Valve—Recommendations1
CLASS I
1. Evaluation for TAVR should be performed by
a multidisciplinary team and panel [81, 240]. (Level of
evidence A)
2. TAVR should be performed by a multidisciplinary
cardiovascular and cardiac surgery team [81, 240].
(Level of evidence A)
3. If available as part of a research protocol or after FDA
approval, transfemoral AVR is recommended in
inoperable patients provided they have an expected
survival of greater than 1 year [81]. (Level of evidence
A)
4. If available as part of a research protocol or after FDA
approval, transfemoral, transaortic, transaxillary, or
transapical AVR with the balloon expandable valve
can be considered in patients who are operative
candidates and have a predicted surgical mortality
greater than 15% and an STS score greater than 10%
by two independent surgical assessments [240]. (Level
of evidence A)
5. TAVR should be performed in a hybrid operating or
catheterization room dedicated to the procedure and
not with mobile c-arms [81, 240]. (Level of evidence B)
1
The self-expanding nitinol bioprosthesis is currently available in
Europe and is under investigation in the US Pivotal trials, but
US recommendations are not available.
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CLASS III
1. Transfemoral aortic valve implantation with
a balloon-expandable valve should not be performed
in patients who are not at high risk for conventional
surgery. (Level of evidence C)
2. Transfemoral aortic valve implantation with
a balloon-expandable valve should not be performed
in patients who have other comorbidities that limit
1-year survival or whose extreme frailty limits the
likelihood of functional recovery after TAVR. (Level of
evidence C)
QUALITY MEASURES
1. Patients being considered for TAVR should have
surgical assessment by a multidisciplinary team
including two independent surgeons to determine
operative risk. Objective measures of risk such as the
EuroSCORE and STS risk score should be used to
document risk but should not be used independent
of a surgical assessment.
2. Patients being considered for TAVR will need
a thorough preoperative assessment including TTE,
diagnostic catheterization, PFTs, and CT scan.
3. Asymptomatic mild or moderate CAD does not need
to be treated before TAVR. Clinically signiﬁcant
CAD that would impact the safety of TAVR procedure should be revascularized before valve
implantation.
4. Vascular access should be assessed by iliac and
femoral angiography as well as CT angiography. In
patients with renal insufﬁciency, vessel anatomy can
be assessed by IVUS and noncontrast CT. All studies
should be reviewed by the physicians responsible for
potential vascular repair.
5. Intraprocedural TEE should be employed to assist
with, TAVR planning, valve positioning, and valve
assessment after deployment.
6. TAVR procedures should be performed by a cardiovascular medicine and cardiac surgery multidisciplinary team with extensive experience with high-risk
valve surgery and percutaneous coronary interventions and balloon valvuloplasty.
7. Patients should be followed with annual TTE to
assess valve function and monitor paravalvular AR.
8. Patients should continue on a regimen of clopidogrel
for 3 to 6 months and aspirin indeﬁnitely after TAVR.
In patients with atrial ﬁbrillation, aspirin and
warfarin should be continued indeﬁnitely if feasible.
9. All centers performing TAVR should report their
results to a national database.
10. Procedure time, ﬂuoroscopy time, transfusion
requirements, use of cardiopulmonary bypass,
number of valves placed, need for sternotomy or
conversion to conventional surgery, vascular
complications, and amount of contrast used should
be measured for all cases.
11. Patients should be given routine antibiotic prophylaxis for all invasive procedures and routine dental
work.
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The notion of TAVR started gaining momentum in the
early 1990s when Andersen and associates [241]
demonstrated that a tissue valve mounted within a stent
could be delivered into the aorta in a closed-chest animal
model. The ﬁrst successful human case of TAVR in a patient
with AS was performed in 2002 by Cribier and colleagues
[242]. This initial case was performed with the ﬁrst version
of a balloon expandable transcatheter equine pericardial
valve through the antegrade transfemoral vein approach
in a patient who was refused for operation. This
approach, which required a transseptal catheterization,
was technically challenging and associated with frequent
complications [243]. Eventually the transseptal antegrade
approach was abandoned in favor of the currently
accepted retrograde transfemoral arterial approach.
Two major TAVR valves are in clinical trials in the
United States, and these have been widely implanted
outside the US. Two available versions of the balloonexpandable transcatheter valve are under investigation.
The version initially studied in pivotal clinical trials in the
United States consists of a trileaﬂet bovine pericardial
valve that is hand sutured into a stainless steel, tubular,
slotted, balloon expandable stent. There are 23-mm and
26-mm diameter valve sizes that can accommodate aortic
annulus sizes between 18 mm and 25 mm, with a 29-mm
valve available in some countries. At the time of the
procedure, the sterile stent valve is crimped onto a standard balloon catheter. The device is advanced retrograde
through a common femoral artery access site through
either a 22F or 24F sheath depending on the valve size
selected. Under ﬂuoroscopic guidance, the valve is
advanced, positioned, and deployed with balloon inﬂation within the diseased native aortic valve. Brief rapid
right ventricular pacing is utilized during deployment to
provide mechanical asystole, which minimizes valve
motion and migration. This procedure is usually done
under general anesthesia with the assistance of transesophageal echocardiography.
The newest version of the balloon-expandable transcatheter valve has a lower proﬁle delivery system (18F
and 19F) that allows the entire system to be used in
smaller iliofemoral vessels.
The self-expanding nitinol valve has porcine pericardial leaﬂets. It is also delivered retrograde in the femoral
artery with an 18F introduction system. Experience is also
growing with delivering this valve in both a subclavian or
transaortic approach. Two sizes are available in the
United States for the pivotal trials, namely, a 26-mm
labeled valve for annular sizes 20 mm to 23 mm and
a 29-mm valve for annular sizes 24 mm to 27 mm. The US
trial has an extreme risk arm for severe, symptomatic AS
with a predicted risk of death or irreversible morbidity at
30 days exceeding 50%. The primary endpoint is all-cause
death or stroke at 1 year. The high-risk arm is enrolling
patients with a predicted risk of death of at least 15% with
a primary endpoint of death at 1 year. Trial enrollment
was expected to be completed in 2012. The version of the
self-expanding stent being studied in the US Pivotal trial
is a nitinol frame with a trileaﬂet porcine pericardial
valve. This valve comes in sizes of 23 mm, 26 mm, 29 mm,
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AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
and 31 mm covering annular sizes from 18 mm to 29 mm.
At the time of the procedure, the valve is crimped on the
provided sterile delivery system and delivered retrograde
by either the femoral, transaxillary, or direct aortic routes
for the trial. A BAV is generally done under rapid
ventricular pacing. The valve is then positioned under
ﬂuoroscopic and echocardiographic control and is
deployed in a controlled fashion without the necessity of
rapid ventricular pacing. The extreme risk arm of this US
pivotal trial has been ﬁlled and the high-risk arm was
expected to ﬁll during 2012.
PROS At the implanting centers for the randomized trail,
transfemoral AVR was performed with acceptable 30-day
and midterm mortality in appropriately selected high risk
or extreme surgical risk patients [81, 240, 244–247]. Recent
studies have shown that more than 30% of patients with
symptomatic AS do not undergo surgical AVR [248].
Many of these patients would now be candidates for
TAVR. Hemodynamic results after TAVR have been
excellent with valve areas comparable to those of
surgically implanted aortic valves [81, 240, 246, 247]. To
date, there has been no evidence of prosthetic valve
restenosis in midterm follow-up. There is no need for
long-term anticoagulation therapy with this valve, and
valve-related thromboembolic events have been observed
rarely. The procedure can often be performed percutaneously, including arterial access and closure. Selfexpanding valves are also easy to insert and also have
a lower proﬁle and can be used in patients with more
severe AR. At this time the balloon implantable valves
have not been studied in patients with severe AR.
The procedure remains challenging and should be
limited to experienced operators owing to the frequent
occurrence of periprocedural complications [81, 240, 246,
247]. The current generation devices require large
sheaths, 22F and 24F for the balloon expandable valve and
18F for the self-expanding valve. That limits the ability to
perform transfemoral aortic valve implantation in
patients with peripheral vascular disease. It also results in
vascular complications that are often problematic and
may result in increased mortality. In addition, there is
a risk of embolic events, especially cerebrovascular,
related to traversing the aorta and aortic valve with the
delivery catheter. Another concern with TAVR is paravalvular AR, which is generally mild, but in a small
percentage of patients (7% to 10%) moderate or severe
paravalvular AR has been reported. Other complications
such as annular rupture and coronary occlusion or heart
block are rare but unpredictable. If complications do
occur or the currently available valve is malpositioned,
the device is not retrievable or repositionable. The nitinol
self-expanding valve has been associated with a higher
incidence of heart block and the need for pacemakers in
approximately 20% of patients [249].
To establish a universal standard for evaluating TAVR
outcomes, the Valve Academic Research Consortium
deﬁnitions were established (Table 4) to track outcomes.
CONS
RESULTS Over the last several years, there have been
numerous trials published evaluating transfemoral AVR
S35
with both valve types. These studies have all been
observational registries in high surgical risk patients
deemed either inoperable or operable high-risk candidates for conventional AVR. Operative and 30-day
mortality in these series ranged from 7.3% to 12%.
Valve function was excellent in all cases, with minimal
gradients across the valve and valve areas greater than 1.5
cm2 [81, 240, 246–248, 250, 251].
Recent studies have reported improved procedural
outcomes after TAVR. The European SAPIEN Aortic
Bioprosthesis European Outcome (SOURCE) registry was
initiated to collect outcomes after TAVR after commercial
approval in Europe [252]. Procedural success in this series
was reported at 95.1% with a 30-day mortality of 6.3%.
Other procedural complications were similar to earlier
series with 2.4% strokes and 10.6% major vascular
complications. One-year survival after transfemoral AVR
in this study was 81.1% [253]. Of the 32 centers in this
study, 23 (72%) had never done a transfemoral valve
implantation before the study. These data suggest that
the device improvements as well as improved patient
selection and procedural techniques will continue to
result in improved acute results. Similar results have
been repeated for the nitinol self-expanding valves.
Long-term results are limited in these early series.
One-year mortality has been remarkably consistent
between the different studies, varying between 18.9% and
26% [246, 247, 251, 253]. The majority of deaths were
nonvalve related. In a series published by Webb and
coworkers [247], the 1-year valve-related mortality was
less than 5% and the all-cause mortality was 26%. There
have been no reports of SVD in these studies at 1 year,
and valve areas have remained more than 1.5 cm2. Initial
paravalvular AR has not changed signiﬁcantly during
1-year follow-up. There have been no reported cases of
valve migration or strut fractures of the support frame.
Concern that paraaortic valve regurgitation may result in
increased hemolysis or endocarditis has not been seen;
however, continued heart failure related to regurgitation
requires further evaluation.
The PARTNER B trial showed that TAVR reduces
mortality in patients with AS who cannot have surgical
AVR [81]. At 26 centers, 699 patients who had severe AS
who were at high risk for operation were randomly
assigned to either AVR or TAVR (transfemoral or
transapical approach) using a balloon expandable
bovine pericardial valve. The primary endpoint was
death from any cause at 1 year and the primary
hypothesis was that TAVR is noninferior to AVR.
The PARTNER trials are the only published randomized trial evaluating transcatheter AVR. Entry criteria
included severe AS deﬁned as less than 0.8 cm2 area and
mean valve gradient 40 mm Hg or more or peak velocity
4.0 m/s or greater. High-risk patients were required to
have an STS score of 10% or higher and a surgeon
assessment of the predicted 30-day mortality of 15% or
greater. Inoperable patients had to have a combined
risk of death or irreversible risk of serious morbidity
more than 50%. Patients were assessed by
a multidisciplinary team and panel, and the TAVR
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SPECIAL REPORT
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procedure was performed by a multidisciplinary cardiac
surgery and cardiovascular team. The primary endpoint
was all-cause mortality at 1 year (noninferiority design
in the high-risk surgical arm and superiority design in the
inoperable study).
In the nonoperative arm of the trial, 30-day mortality
after TAVR was 6.4% versus 2.8% in the medically treated
patients (p ¼ 0.41) [81]. Procedural complications were
similar to earlier trials with a 5.0% major stroke, 16.2%
major vascular complication, and 16.8% major bleeding
event rates. Valve hemodynamics were excellent, with
a mean valve area of 1.5 cm2. Paravalvular leak
remained a problem with 13% of patients having more
than 2þ regurgitation after the procedure. One-year
survival was dramatically improved with a 20% reduction in absolute mortality in patients treated with TAVR
versus medical therapy, 30.7% versus 50.7% (p < 0.0001).
There were also signiﬁcant improvements in New York
Heart Association (NYHA) functional class and 6-minute
walk distances. There was a separate quality of life substudy that revealed dramatic improvements after TAVR
compared with medical therapy that were sustained out
to 1 year. The results from the nonoperative arm of the
PARTNER trial demonstrated that TAVR is the standard
of care for inoperable patients and should be offered to
appropriate candidates [254].
In the high-risk operative arm of the PARTNER trial,
492 patients were randomized between transfemoral
TAVR and surgery [240]. Thirty-day and 1-year mortality
were not signiﬁcantly different between transfemoral
TAVR and surgery, 3.3% versus 6.2% at 30 days (p ¼ 0.13)
and 22.2% versus 26.4% at 1 year (p ¼ 0.29). That met the
prespeciﬁed criteria for noninferiority (difference 4.2%,
95% upper conﬁdence limit 2.3%, predeﬁne margin 7.5%;
p ¼ 0.002 for noninferiority). There was no signiﬁcant
difference in rates of major strokes after transfemoral
TAVR compared with surgical AVR at 30 days (2.5%
versus 1.4%, p ¼ 0.37) or 1 year (3.5% versus 1.4%, p ¼
0.15). Including all strokes and transient ischemic attacks,
events were more frequent after transfemoral TAVR than
after AVR at 30 days (4.6% versus 1.4%, p ¼ 0.04) and at 1
year (6.1% or 1.9% p ¼ 0.03). Major vascular complications
were more frequent after TAVR (14.2% versus 3.2%, p <
0.01), whereas major bleeding (10.9% versus 23.1%, p <
0.01) and new-onset atrial ﬁbrillation (7.5% versus 18.6%,
p < 0.01) were more frequent after AVR. Symptom
improvement favored TAVR at 30 days but was similar
after 1 year. Paravalvular regurgitation was more
frequent after TAVR than AVR (p < 0.001). The trial
concluded that for patients with severe AS who are at
high risk for surgery, TAVR and AVR was associated
similar survival after 1 year, although there were important differences in periprocedural hazards [240].
In addition to the above studies for native AS, there has
been limited experience with TAVR for failed aortic and
mitral bioprosthesis. The largest series includes 24
patients, of whom 10 underwent TAVR for a failed aortic
bioprosthesis [168]. There were no deaths at 30 days
among these patients. In the future, these procedures
may be performed through the transfemoral approach
Ann Thorac Surg
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with improvements in the device and procedural
technique. However, candidates will be limited by the
type and size of aortic bioprosthesis initially implanted,
and patients with small surgical valves will not be
candidates with the current generation devices.
13. Transarterial Aortic Valves: New Developments
in Percutaneous Aortic Valves
13.1. New Valves and Delivery Systems
Currently available valves appear to offer the potential for
relatively durable clinical beneﬁt [247, 255]. Nevertheless,
current valves have limitations, particularly in terms of
deliverability, deployment, and annular sealing [256, 257].
Valves and valve delivery systems function synergistically, and changes in one component necessitate changes
in the other.
Perhaps the greatest urgency is to reduce the risk of
arterial injury through the development of lower proﬁle
delivery systems [256–259]. Approaches to further miniaturization include use of reengineered lower proﬁle
delivery catheters, more compressible frame designs
constructed of newer alloys, thinner and more
compressible leaﬂet materials, thinner walled sheaths or
expandable sheath systems, and systems that remove the
need to introduce an expanding balloon inside an
expandable frame (self-expanding, non–balloon expandable, or sequential balloon introduction systems).
Newer systems will likely incorporate features to
facilitate positioning (recapture, reposition, and redeploy), sealing [260–262], coronary access [263–266] and, if
these are not optimal, retrieval. A number of valves are
undergoing early clinical evaluation and many more are
in development [267–270]. In seeking lower proﬁles,
retrievability, and other enhancements it will be important not to sacriﬁce ease of insertion, frame strength,
hemodynamic function, or durability [271], the latter of
which will become increasingly important as the
procedure is more widely applied and in younger
patients [272, 273].
13.2. Stroke Prevention
The reported incidence of clinically diagnosed stroke in
current high-risk registries ranges from 2% to 6.4% [246,
247]. The majority of strokes are likely embolic and are
due to mobilization of atheromatous and calciﬁc emboli
from the ascending aorta and native valve. Manipulation
within the native valves appears to be an important factor.
Brain MRI and transcranial Doppler suggest that subclinical brain embolization occurs in the majority of patients,
raising concerns about neurocognitive decline [274, 275].
Whether preprocedural echocardiographic or CT
screening for arch atheroma is of value is unknown.
Future delivery systems are likely to be lower proﬁle and
less traumatic. Whether there is a difference in risk of
stroke according to valve type or access approached is
unknown [252, 276]. A number of embolic control devices
are under investigation such as deﬂection and ﬁltering
devices. Whether this will translate into clinical beneﬁt is
also unknown.
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AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
13.3. Procedural Imaging
High-quality ﬂuoroscopic imaging is a prerequisite for
TAVR. Portable ﬂuoroscopic imaging systems are rarely
adequate owing to the limitations of these systems in
terms of image quality and review as well as ﬂexibility and
camera positioning. Prompt access to transthoracic and
transesophageal echocardiographic imaging when needed
to assess valve positioning and function, ventricular function and ﬁlling, and pericardial effusions is a necessity
[277–280]. Three-dimensional TEE guidance during valve
implantation maybe of value, but the necessity of this is
controversial for some devices [279, 281, 282].
A number of advanced imaging systems are under
development that utilize computerized real-time ﬂuoroscopic guidance [278], in-laboratory three-dimensional
angiographic reconstruction, CT coregistration [283], realtime magnetic resonance [284], or other modalities. Such
systems are intended to assist in the evaluation of the
aortic valvular complex and accurate positioning of the
prosthesis. While promising, the role of these systems
remains to be determined.
13.4. Hybrid Suites
Typically, TAVR is performed in either a hybrid cardiac
catheterization laboratory or hybrid operating room
setting. The requirement for high-quality ﬂuoroscopic
imaging and ready access to rarely used catheterization
equipment may not be achieved in a standard operating
room environment. Conversely, a standard cardiac
catheterization laboratory may not offer optimal sterility
or options for anesthetic or surgical support. The
possibility of unexpected hemodynamic instability in
patients with AS argues for ready access to temporary
cardiopulmonary support. Consequently, the concept of
a “hybrid” suite optimized for both endovascular and
open surgical procedures is recommended. It seems
likely that optimal outcomes will be achieved in this
optimal environment.
13.5. Endovascular Access
Transvenous access to the aortic valve was problematic
and has been abandoned in favor of transarterial access
from the femoral artery. Early systems required surgical
cutdown and open repair of the femoral artery. With
increasing experience and a progressive reduction in
catheter size, percutaneous closure is becoming increasingly reliable and will likely be routine [285].
The major limitation of arterial access remains the risk of
vascular injury [271, 286]. Transapical access avoids the
risk of arterial injury and provides ready access to the
aortic valve [287]. It has been suggested the risk of aortic
atheroembolism may be lower than retrograde
approaches, although evidence for this is lacking. Limitations include the risk of apical injury, mitral injury, and
thoracotomy. Percutaneous apical closure devices are
under investigation but as yet untried.
Other access alternatives have included retroperitoneal
access to the iliac artery and direct access to the aorta. The
minimal invasive upper sternal J incision [102] and small
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right anterior thoracotomy with access to the ascending
aorta has become popular in many centers [288–290].
Recently open transaxillary or subclavian arteries access
has found greater favor [291–294]. Disadvantages include
the need for a cutdown, risk to mammary arterial grafts,
compression of the delivery catheter, and surgical repair
should injury occur.
13.6. Valve-in-Valve
Implantation of transcatheter valves within dysfunctional
or malpositioned transcatheter valves has been demonstrated to be feasible and potentially effective [261, 262,
271, 295, 296]. Similarly experience with transcatheter
“valve-in-valve” implantation has been favorable in
patients with failed surgical bioprostheses [168, 178, 262,
288, 296–301]. Although experience has been favorable it
may be difﬁcult if not impossible to evaluate all of the
possible combinations of types and sizes of prosthetic
valves. The implications for valvular function and durability are unknown.
13.7. TAVR in Lower Risk Patients
The FDA has made it clear that to use TAVR in lower risk
patients, randomized trials are required. Two trials are
planned and have obtained FDA approval to proceed.
The two trials, PARTNER II A and SURTAVI have similar
enrollment criteria, including STS score 4 or higher. The
PARTNER trial will enroll 2,000 patients and SURTAVI,
1,860 patients.
14. Transapical Aortic Valve—Recommendations
Class I
1. Transapical insertion of a balloon expandable aortic
valve is recommended in patients with symptomatic
severe AS who are considered to be at excessive risk
for conventional AVR and are not candidates for
a transfemoral approach due to preexisting peripheral
vasculature disease, and who have an expected
survival of at least 1 year [240]. (Level of evidence B)
2. Evaluation for TAVR should be performed by
a multidisciplinary team and panel [81, 240]. (Level of
evidence A)
3. TAVR should be performed by a multidisciplinary
cardiovascular and cardiac surgery team with extensive experience with high-risk valve surgery and
percutaneous coronary interventions and balloon
valvuloplasty [81, 240]. (Level of evidence A)
4. If available as part of a research protocol or after FDA
approval, transfemoral, transaortic, transaxillary, or
transapical AVR with the balloon expandable valve
can be considered in patients who are operative
candidates and have a predicted surgical mortality
greater than 15% and an STS score greater than 10%
by two independent surgical assessments [240]. (Level
of evidence A)
5. TAVR should be performed in a hybrid operating or
catheterization room dedicated to the procedure and
not with mobile c-arms [81, 240]. (Level of evidence B)
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SPECIAL REPORT
SVENSSON ET AL
AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
Class IIa
1. Transapical insertion of a balloon expandable aortic
valve may be a reasonable alternative in patients with
critical AS who have an estimated mortality of at least
15% as independently judged by two cardiothoracic
surgeons, or who have a predicted risk of mortality
using the STS-PROM algorithm of 10% or greater,
and do not have access for the transfemoral approach.
The PARTNER A trial was not powered to access
noninferiority. (Level of evidence C)
Class III
1. Transapical insertion of a balloon expandable aortic
valve is not recommended for low-risk patients with
critical AS who are considered good candidates for
conventional valve replacement. (Level of evidence C)
Quality Measures
1. All patients referred for transapical TAVR, should be
evaluated by multidisciplinary team and two cardiothoracic surgeons to determine suitability for
conventional valve surgery.
2. All patients being considered for transapical TAVR
should have a preoperative left heart catheterization,
TTE, PFTs, and a CT scan of the chest, abdomen, and
pelvis through the femoral heads.
3. Intraoperative TEE should be used in addition to
ﬂuoroscopy to adequately position the valve for
deployment.
4. Procedure time, ﬂuoroscopy time, transfusion
requirements, use of cardiopulmonary bypass,
number of valves placed, need for sternotomy or
conversion to conventional surgery, vascular complications, and amount of contrast used should be
measured for all cases.
5. Patients should be placed on double antiplatelet
agents for at least 3 to 6 months unless contraindicated, and aspirin indeﬁnitely after the procedure.
6. All patients should have a yearly TTE and physical
examination.
7. Patients should be given routine antibiotic prophylaxis for all invasive procedures and routine dental
work.
8. Patients should be enrolled in a national registry
database.
Early investigation into using the LV apex as an access
site for catheter based implantation of a balloon
expandable aortic valve was initially performed as
a collaborative effort between both surgeons and cardiologists [86, 302]. Building upon this preliminary
research, the ﬁrst successful transapical implantation was
performed at St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada, in 2005 [303].
Transapical valve implantation is performed through an
anterior thoracotomy, usually entering the ﬁfth or sixth
intercostal space or resecting a short piece of rib to reach
the LV apex. The optimal insertion site for the delivery
Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66
sheath is in the muscular portion of the apex, which is
slightly cephalad and lateral to the true apex of the heart.
Tapping the apex of the left ventricle while watching the
TEE helps conﬁrm the correct entry site. Hemostatic
control of the insertion site is obtained using either pursestring or opposing U-type sutures, with as many as three
sutures. The valve comes in two sizes, 23 mm and 26 mm,
both of which are delivered through a 26F sheath. A
balloon valvuloplasty is performed to create space for
blood to ﬂow around the prosthesis as it is positioned in
the annulus. Optimal positioning is achieved using ﬂuoroscopy and TEE such that native annulus hinge points
bisect the midposition of the prosthesis. Rapid ventricular
pacing is performed to reduce cardiac output during valve
deployment to reduce the risk of prosthesis embolization.
More recently, many centers deploy the valve slowly so
that ﬁne adjustments can be performed during deployment for optimal positioning. Sheath removal and closure
of the LV apex is performed on a depressurized heart in
many centers by rapidly pacing the heart ventricle to
reduce the patient’s systolic blood pressure.
Compared with the transfemoral approach, for most
centers the transapical technique is generally faster, uses
less contrast, and requires shorter ﬂuoroscopy times.
Additionally, control of valve placement is enhanced with
the transapical approach owing to the stiffness of the
delivery catheter and the short working distance between
the apical insertion site and the aortic annulus. The
PARTNER trial results containing the outcomes of a highrisk group of patients having transapical aortic valve
implantation are published [240].
Pros
Transapical valve implantation can be performed closed
chest, beating heart, and without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass, even in nonoperable or prohibitive-risk
patients. This approach is particularly efﬁcacious for
patients who have had previous bypass grafting or cardiac
surgery as it obviates the risk of cardiac or inadvertent
graft injury due to repeat sternotomy. Compared with
transfemoral TAVR, sheath size for valve delivery is not
a limiting factor in patient selection for the transapical
approach. This ﬂexibility in sheath size also enables
modiﬁcations to be made to the structure of the valve to
reduce the propensity for paravalvular leak, additions that
would be challenging with peripherally implanted devices
due to an emphasis on proﬁle size. Some data suggest the
risk of stroke is lower with the transapical approach.
Transapical valve implantation can be successfully
performed in patients with occlusive peripheral vascular
disease and in patients with diminutive or tortuous
peripheral vessels. Additionally, anatomic factors such as
true porcelain aorta, which would be a contraindication to
conventional AVR, are amenable to a transapical
approach. The hemodynamic performance of the valves
has been excellent, with low gradients and impressive
oriﬁce areas, even in patients with small aortic annuli
[304, 305].
As with the transfemoral approach, the transapical
approach has also been utilized as the access site of
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SPECIAL REPORT
SVENSSON ET AL
AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
choice for the implantation of a transcatheter valve into
a degenerated bioprosthetic valve [306]. The ability to
avoid a redo valve replacement with its attendant
morbidity and mortality is a signiﬁcant beneﬁt of
transcatheter technology. Although feasible through
a transfemoral approach, the LV apex is a good access
site for catheter based mitral valve replacement as it
precludes the need for a transseptal approach, thus
simplifying the procedure. Current research is focused
on developing technology to enable a port access
transapical procedure to be performed.
Cons
There remains a signiﬁcant learning curve to achieve
mastery of the transapical procedure. Procedural steps to
be mastered include exposure and control of the LV apex,
valve positioning and deployment, and control of the
choreography of the procedure. Signiﬁcant complications, including catastrophic LV apical bleeding, were
noted in several early reports. Other complications noted
with the transapical procedure as with the transfemoral
approach include embolization of the valve, either distally
into the aorta or proximally into the left ventricle, coronary obstruction, and aortic root rupture. Appropriate
patient selection is critical to ensuring optimal outcomes
with the transapical procedure, particularly in regard to
the recognition of unfavorable procedural anatomy.
Paravalvular leak remains a consistent ﬁnding in the
majority of patients undergoing both transapical and
transfemoral aortic valve implantation. Although hemolysis and endocarditis have not been signiﬁcantly associated with this ﬁnding, the long-term implications for the
energy loss associated with paravalvular leak are unknown
[307]. Valve durability also remains unknown, particularly
in regard to the effect that crimping of the valve onto the
delivery balloon has on leaﬂet structure and longevity. To
date, the failure mode of the valve also remains unknown
although root thrombus restricting leaﬂet motion has
been noted.
Contraindications for the transapical procedure include
calciﬁcation of the pericardium or LV apex, patch repair of
the apex secondary to an aneurysmectomy, LV apex
thrombus, or severe respiratory insufﬁciency that would be
exacerbated by a thoracotomy. Additionally, certain
anatomic abnormalities that preclude accessing the LV
apex, such as extreme rotation of the heart or previous
pneumonectomy resulting in dislocation of the heart into
either the right or left chest, rule out a transapical approach.
Results
The majority of the early results reported on the transapical
procedure were observational in nature, describing either
feasibility outcomes or early multiple-center experiences.
Svensson and colleagues [302] reporting the ﬁrst 40
transapical aortic valve implantations performed in the
United States in an extremely high risk population with
patients having an STS-PROM score more than 15% or
inoperability described a procedural success rate of 87.5%
and a 30-day survival of 82.5%. The European multiplecenter feasibility study, the TRAVERCE ((Trans-Apical
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Surgical Delivery of the Cribier-Edwards Aortic Bioprothesis Clinical Feasibility) trial, reported a larger cohort
of 168 patients, showing a procedural success rate of 95.8%
and 30-day survival of 85% [308]. These studies were
performed early in the investigators TAVR experience
using ﬁrst-generation technology that included a 33F
delivery sheath in many patients.
Improved survival was demonstrated as center experience increased. Rodes-Cabau and colleagues [246] reported
the results of the Canadian Multicenter experience looking
at outcomes in 168 transfemoral patients and 177
transapical patients. Overall procedural success was 93.3%,
with a 30-day mortality of 9.5% for the transfemoral
patients compared with 11.3% for the transapical group.
There were no differences between the transapical or
transfemoral patients in regard to 12- and 24-month survival.
Recently transapical outcomes have also been compared
with a propensity-matched cohort of patients having
conventional AVR surgery. Walther and associates [309]
demonstrated 30-day, 6-month, and 1-year survival of
90%, 75%, and 74%, respectively, for the transapical group
compared with 85%, 70%, and 69%, respectively (p ¼ 0.547),
in the conventional surgery patients. Valve function was
excellent in the transapical group with low mean gradients
and velocities across the prostheses over time.
The largest study reporting outcomes with transapical
valve implantation is the European SOURCE registry,
a 32-center registry designed to collect data during the
ﬁrst year of commercial activity after approval in Europe
[252]; 575 transapical aortic valve implantations were
included in the registry. Procedural success in the
transapical group was 92.7%, with a 30-day mortality of
10.3%. Other procedural complications such as stroke
and vascular access complications were low at 2.6% and
2.4% respectively. Of note, the majority of the centers
had no transcatheter experience before beginning the
registry.
The transapical technique has also been used to
perform valve-in-valve implantations for failed bioprosthetic valves. These valves have been transapically
inserted into degenerated bioprosthetic valves in the
aortic, tricuspid, pulmonary, and mitral position. A recent
large series of 24 patients reported by Webb and associates [168] demonstrated a 30-day mortality of 4.2% and no
more than mild regurgitation after implantation.
The PARTNER trial data reported transapical outcomes
in a high-risk cohort of patients compared with conventional surgery. The data showed the transapical arm of
the PARTNER A patients had more cerebrovascular
disease, had more CABG or PCI, more peripheral
vascular disease, atrial ﬁbrillation, more severe AS (as
risk factor for stroke), more liver disease, and porcelain
aorta. In comparing the as-treated data, the transapical
TAVR mortality was 8.7% and AVR 7.6% (p ¼ 0.29) and
stroke/transient ischemic attack for transapical TAVR
7.9% and AVR 5.5% (p ¼ 0.5). Of note, as-treated stroke/
transient ischemic attack in the transfemoral TAVR was
4.6% versus 1.4% for AVR (p ¼ 0.04). The trial was not
powered sufﬁciently to determine if the transapical
approach data were noninferior to open AVR [240].
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SPECIAL REPORT
SVENSSON ET AL
AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
Many centers are using transaortic, transsubclavian, or
other alternative approaches for TAVR. These have not
been studied in prospective studies but case series show
promise.
15. Transaortic Valve
Replacement—Recommendations
Class I
1. Evaluation for TAVR should be performed by
a multidisciplinary team and panel [81, 240]. (Level of
evidence A)
2. TAVR should be performed by a multidisciplinary
cardiovascular and cardiac surgery team [81, 240].
(Level of evidence A)
3. If available as part of a research protocol or after FDA
approval, transfemoral, transaortic, transaxillary, or
transapical AVR with the balloon expandable valve
can be considered in patients who are operative
candidates and have a predicted surgical mortality
greater than 15% and an STS score greater than 10%
by two independent surgical assessments [240]. (Level
of evidence A)
4. TAVR should be performed in a hybrid operating or
catheterization room dedicated to the procedure and
not with mobile c-arms [81, 240]. (Level of evidence B)
Class IIa
1. Direct aortic insertion of a self-expanding or balloon
expandable aortic valve may be a reasonable alternative in patients with critical aortic stenosis who
are contraindicated for conventional aortic valve
replacement and are not candidates for a transfemoral
approach due to preexisting peripheral vasculature
disease, and who have an expected survival of at least
1 year. (Level of evidence B)
2. Direct aortic insertion of a self-expanding or balloon
expandable aortic valve may be a reasonable alternative in patients with critical aortic stenosis who have an
estimated mortality of at least 15% as independently
judged by two cardiothoracic surgeons or who have
a predicted risk of mortality using the STS-PROM
algorithm of 10% or greater and do not have access
for the transfemoral approach. (Level of evidence C)
Class III
1. Direct aortic insertion of a self-expanding or balloon
expandable aortic valve is not recommended in lowrisk patients with critical aortic stenosis who are
considered good candidates for conventional valve
replacement. (Level of evidence C)
Quality Measures
1. All patients referred for direct aortic TAVR, should be
evaluated by multidisciplinary team and two cardiothoracic surgeons to determine suitability for
conventional valve surgery.
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2013;95:S1–S66
2. All patients being considered for direct aortic TAVR
should have a preoperative left-side heart catheterization, transthoracic echocardiogram, PFTs, and a CT
scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis through the
femoral heads.
3. Intraoperative TEE should be used in addition to
ﬂuoroscopy to adequately position the valve for
deployment.
4. Procedure time, ﬂuoroscopy time, transfusion
requirements, use of cardiopulmonary bypass,
number of valves placed, need for sternotomy or
conversion to conventional surgery, vascular complications, and amount of contrast used should be
measured for all cases.
5. Patients should be placed on a regimen of double
antiplatelet agents for at least 6 months unless contraindicated and aspirin indeﬁnitely after the
procedure.
6. All patients should have a yearly transthoracic echocardiogram and physical examination.
7. Patients should be given routine antibiotic prophylaxis for all invasive procedures and routine dental
work.
Early investigation into using the ascending thoracic
aorta as an access site for catheter-based implantation of
a balloon expandable aortic valve was initially performed
as a collaborative effort between both surgeons and
cardiologists.
Direct aortic valve implantation is performed through
a small right anterior thoracotomy or an upper right “J”
hemisternotomy through the second or third interspace
[102]. Both provide good access to the ascending aorta
for sheath insertion and allow ascending aortic
cannulation in a fashion familiar to all cardiac
surgeons. Both self-expanding and balloon expandable
valves may be placed using this approach. Careful
planning is important in choosing a direct aortic
approach. If a line is drawn on the chest CT from the
sternum to the spine and the ascending aorta is to the
left of this line, a right thoracotomy approach may be
difﬁcult and better exposure obtained through ministernotomy. If there is a patent LIMA graft, a right
thoracotomy generally allows aortic access away from
the position of the LIMA. Hemostatic control of the
insertion site is obtained using two concentric pledgeted
pursestrings. This approach is amenable to both the
currently widely used valves and allows access to all
sheath sizes required. A balloon valvuloplasty is performed to create space for blood to ﬂow around the
prosthesis as it is positioned in the annulus. Optimal
positioning is achieved using ﬂuoroscopy and TEE so
that native annulus hinge points bisect the midposition
of the prosthesis. Valve deployment is done in the
standard fashion according to the valve type chosen.
Sheath removal and closure of the ascending aorta is
familiar to cardiac surgeons and done in a standard
fashion.
Compared with the transfemoral approach, many
centers ﬁnd the direct aortic access technique is often
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Ann Thorac Surg
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SPECIAL REPORT
SVENSSON ET AL
AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
faster, uses less contrast, and requires shorter ﬂuoroscopy
times. Additionally, control of valve placement is
enhanced with the direct aortic approach owing to the
short working distance between the aortic insertion site
and the aortic annulus allowing more precise control and
less stored energy in the delivery system. Direct aortic
access is part of the CoreValve US Pivotal trial, which was
expected to reach completion in 2012.
Pros
Direct aortic valve implantation can be performed closed
chest, beating heart, and without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass, even in nonoperable or prohibitive-risk
patients. This approach is particularly efﬁcacious using
the right thoracotomy approach for patients who have
had previous bypass grafting or cardiac surgery as it
obviates the risk of cardiac or inadvertent graft injury due
to repeat sternotomy. Compared with transfemoral aortic
valve implantation, sheath size for valve delivery is not
a limiting factor in patient selection for the direct
approach. This ﬂexibility in sheath size also enables
modiﬁcations to be to future valves and may allow port
access with the thoracotomy approach in the future.
Unlike transapical, both the current balloon expandable
and self-expanding valves can be deployed using this
access. Unlike transapical, all cardiac surgeons have
extensive experience placing large bore cannulae into the
ascending aorta. Valve positioning and deployment have
been found, as is the case with transapical also, to be
simpler and more precise owing to the closeness to the
deployment site and lack of stored energy of the direct
route to the aortic valve. Additionally, in the event of
a catastrophic local insertion site complication, graft
replacement of the ascending aorta in an appropriate
patient is a familiar procedure to cardiac surgeons.
A ﬁltering umbrella can be inserted at the time of the
procedure. The approach can also be used to quickly
convert patients to full cardiopulmonary bypass if
needed.
Cons
Complications can occur including rare catastrophic
ascending aortic bleeding, which mimics the potential
seen in any aortic cannulation for standard CPB. Appropriate patient selection is critical to ensuring optimal
outcomes with the direct aortic procedure, particularly in
regard to the recognition of unfavorable procedural
anatomy for reoperations and calciﬁed aortas.
Contraindications for the direct aortic procedure
include atheroma or calciﬁcation of the ascending aorta
that the surgeon believes precludes placement and safe
closure of the aorta. Additionally, certain factors may
preclude a direct aortic approach such as anatomic
displacement of the aorta (pneumonectomy).
Results
The direct aortic approach to TAVR was not included in
the PARTNER trial but there is a growing experience.
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16. Transaxillary or Subclavian Valve
Approach—Recommendations
Class I
1. Evaluation for TAVR should be performed by
a multidisciplinary team and panel [81, 240]. (Level of
evidence A)
2. TAVR should be performed by a multidisciplinary
cardiovascular and cardiac surgery team [81, 240].
(Level of evidence A)
3. If available as part of a research protocol or after FDA
approval, transfemoral, transaortic, transaxillary, or
transapical AVR with the balloon expandable valve
can be considered for patients who are operative
candidates and have a predicted surgical mortality
greater than 15% and an STS score greater than 10%
by two independent surgical assessments [240]. (Level
of evidence A)
4. TAVR should be performed in a hybrid operating or
catheterization room dedicated to the procedure and
not with mobile c-arms [81, 240]. (Level of evidence B)
Class IIa
1. Transaxillary or subclavian insertion of a selfexpanding or balloon expandable aortic valve may
be a reasonable alternative in patients with critical
aortic stenosis who are contraindicated for conventional aortic valve replacement and are not candidates
for a transfemoral approach because of preexisting
peripheral vasculature disease, and who have an expected survival of at least 1 year. (Level of evidence B)
2. Transaxillary or subclavian insertion of a selfexpanding or balloon expandable aortic valve may
be a reasonable alternative in patients with critical
aortic stenosis who have an estimated mortality of at
least 15% as independently judged by two cardiothoracic surgeons, or who have a predicted risk of
mortality using the STS-PROM algorithm of 10% or
greater and do not have access for the transfemoral
approach. (Level of evidence C)
Class III
1. Transaxillary or subclavian insertion of a selfexpanding or balloon expandable aortic valve is not
recommended for low-risk patients with critical aortic
stenosis who are considered good candidates for
conventional valve replacement. (Level of evidence C)
Quality Measures
1. All patients referred for transaxillary or subclavian
TAVR should be evaluated by multidisciplinary team
and two cardiothoracic surgeons to determine suitability for conventional valve surgery.
2. All patients being considered for transaxillary or
subclavian TAVR should have a preoperative left-side
heart catheterization, transthoracic echocardiogram,
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
SPECIAL REPORT
SVENSSON ET AL
AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
PFTs, and a CT scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis
through the femoral heads.
Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography
should be used in addition to ﬂuoroscopy to
adequately position the valve for deployment.
Procedure time, ﬂuoroscopy time, transfusion
requirements, use of cardiopulmonary bypass,
number of valves placed, need for sternotomy or
conversion to conventional surgery, vascular complications, and amount of contrast used should be
measured for all cases.
Patients should be placed on a regimen of double
antiplatelet agents for at least 6 months unless contraindicated and aspirin indeﬁnitely after the
procedure.
All patients should have a yearly TTE and physical
examination.
Patients should be given routine antibiotic prophylaxis
for all invasive procedures and routine dental work.
The axillary artery is exposed in the deltopectoral
groove. Many cardiac surgeons are familiar with this
approach for axillary cannulation. The sheath may be
inserted through a graft sutured to the artery or directly
inserted by the Seldinger technique. The subclavian
artery can be used in the supraclavicular approach but
this is less common. The carotid arteries or innominate
artery have also been used for access.
Pros
Transaxillary or subclavian TAVR access, like transfemoral, does not require the opening of a major body
cavity and can be done under local anesthesia as necessary. The catheter insertion site is closer to the deployment site than transfemoral, generally leading to easier
and more accurate deployment.
Cons
Use of transaxillary or subclavian access on the right side
requires an annular angle from horizontal of 30 degrees
or less, and the left is similar to transfemoral, requiring an
angle from horizontal of 70 degrees or less. Use on the left
can be complicated by dependency on a patent left
internal thoracic artery bypass.
Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66
for both bicuspid and tricuspid valve repairs when
compared with biological AVR in younger patents [336]
(Figs 23 to 27). Survival is equivalent to age- and
gender-matched population.
17.1. Remodeling—Recommendations
CLASS I
1. Aortic valve repairs should be checked by intraoperative TEE after the repairs is completed. (Level of
evidence C)
2. Patients should be followed postoperatively by yearly
echocardiograms after aortic valve repair. (Level of
evidence C)
CLASS IIA
1. Root remodeling may be considered for patients with
signiﬁcantly dilated roots and bicuspid valves or
patients with acute aortic dissection, including excision of the non coronary sinus as a remodeling
procedure, also known as the Wolfe procedure. (Level
of evidence C)
CLASS III
1. Root remodeling should be avoided in patients with
connective tissue disorders. (Level of evidence C)
QUALITY MEASURES
1. Perioperative gram-positive and gram-negative antibiotic coverage should be used.
2. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography
should be performed.
3. Postoperative beta-blockers should be used.
Aortic valve repair is a relatively straightforward
procedure when performed by expert aortic valve
surgeons with good initial results and a not-excessive
cross-clamp time. Most surgeons are comfortable doing
coronary artery reattachments, using either free buttons or
the inclusion technique. The aortic annulus and commissures are less likely to be distorted. Remodeling works well
for patients who have bicuspid valves and root dilation.
CONS The repair of the valve, particularly with leaﬂet
prolapse, is less predictable. Leakage due to a dilated
annulus requires an outside banding or subannular
PROS
17. Aortic Valve Leaﬂet Remodeling,
Reimplantation, and Repair
The reason for trying to preserve the aortic valve or
repair regurgitant valves in patients with root dilation or
bicuspid valves is because these are usually young
patients, and mechanical valve insertion means a lifetime of anticoagulation therapy and no possibility of
implantation of a percutaneous valve at a later stage. The
other alternative of a biological valve is associated with
reduced durability at a younger age. The root- and
valve-preserving alternatives are remodeling, reimplantation, bicuspid valve repair, or sinotubular junction
tailoring [1, 14, 20, 69, 72, 99, 310–335]. More recent data
show that late survival and risk of reoperation is lower
Fig 23. Survival for aortic valve repair, matched age and sex US life
population, and matched biological aortic valve replacement (AVR).
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Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66
SPECIAL REPORT
SVENSSON ET AL
AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
Fig 24. Survival by bicuspid valve or Marfan syndrome aortic valve
repair, US matched patients, degenerative root aneurysm/valve
repairs of the aorta by tailoring, biological aortic valve replacement
(AVR), and aortic dissection with valve repair.
encircling suture that pleats the annulus down to
a normal size. Long-term results show a higher risk of
reoperation and valve replacement than the reimplantation operation, particularly for patients with connective
tissue disorders such as Marfan syndrome.
RESULTS A less than 1% 30-day mortality rate for elective
repairs is to be expected, particularly for prophylactic
operations [323, 324, 327]. Long-term durability and
freedom from reoperation has varied at 10 years [1, 72,
310, 312–316, 318, 320, 323, 324, 327, 337].
17.2. Reimplantation—Recommendations
CLASS I
1. Root size, particularly at the sinuses of Valsalva
should be measured by CT or MRI using the external
diameter at its greatest extent. Conventionally TEE is
used to measure the internal diameter at its greatest
extent, usually from sinus to sinus [1]. (Level of
evidence B)
2. Intraoperative TEE is recommended to check the
repair. (Level of evidence C)
3. Reimplantation is recommended for young patients,
when feasible, who have aortic root dilation, with or
without regurgitation, and a tricuspid aortic valve.
(Level of evidence C)
Fig 25. Survival by remodeling, reimplantation, US life, biologic
aortic valve replacement (AVR), and tailoring.
S43
Fig 26. Hazard curves showing increasing risk of biological aortic
valve replacement (AVR) failure after approximately 7 years but
declining risk with repair.
4. An aortic root greater than 5.0 cm is recommended as
a threshold for prophylactic repair for most patients,
including patients with Marfan syndrome. (Level of
evidence C)
5. In patient with a family history of aortic dissection
and Marfan syndrome, surgery is recommended at
a size of 4.5 cm in cross-sectional diameter. (Level of
evidence C)
6. Gram-positive and gram-negative prophylactic antibiotics should be administered at the time of surgery.
(Level of evidence C)
7. The patient should have yearly echocardiograms.
(Level of evidence C)
8. Prophylactic antibiotics for any invasive procedure
including dentistry are recommended. (Level of
evidence C)
CLASS IIA
1. For patients with Loeys-Dietz syndrome, a threshold
of 4.2 cm maybe considered for surgery. (Level of
evidence C)
2. The cross-sectional area of the root in square centimeters divided by the patient’s height in meters and
exceeding 10 may be considered an indication for
surgery. (Level of evidence C)
Fig 27. Risk of reoperation by biological aortic valve replacement
(AVR), tricuspid valve repair, mostly by modiﬁed David reimplantation, and for bicuspid valves.
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Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66
3. In female patients with a connective tissue disorder
who are considering pregnancy, a prophylactic repair
may be considered when the aortic root exceeds 4.0
cm. (Level of evidence C)
4. An antiplatelet agent should be considered postoperatively. (Level of evidence C)
4. ACE inhibitor therapy should be considered in patients
with low EF postoperatively. (Level of evidence C)
5. Patients should be given prophylactic antibiotics at
any time that an invasive procedure is done,
including dental procedures, after a bicuspid valve
repair. (Level of evidence C)
NATIONAL QUALITY FORUM MEASURES
QUALITY MEASURES
1. Prophylactic gram-positive and gram-negative
coverage should be used at the time of surgery.
2. Intraoperative echocardiography.
3. Postoperative aspirin or clopidogrel should be
administered.
4. Discharge should be on beta-blockers.
5. ACE inhibitor therapy should be considered in
patients with low EF postoperatively.
1. Prophylactic antibiotics for both gram-negative and
gram-positive coverage for the operative procedure.
2. Intraoperative echocardiography.
3. Postoperative beta-blockers and calcium-channel
blockers.
4. Patients should be given prophylactic antibiotics any
time an invasive procedure is done, including dental
procedures.
PROS The operation is proven to have good to excellent
midterm durability. The late risk of stroke or thromboembolism appears to be low. Correction of AR, either
because of malposition of the leaﬂets or because of annular
dilation because of leaﬂet prolapse, can be corrected
without affecting durability. Results have been excellent
for tri-leaﬂet valves, including patients with connective
tissue disorders such as Marfan syndrome, Loeys-Dietz
syndrome, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome but less so for
patients with bicuspid aortic valves [313, 316, 320, 323, 336].
CONS The operation is technically more demanding and
requires judgment based on experience and regularly
doing the procedure. The procedure is also associated
with the risk of producing ﬁstulas, including perforation
of the base of the anterior leaﬂet of the mitral valve, the
right ventricular outﬂow tract, or ventricular septal
defects. Recovery from an intraoperative failure or late
failure usually requires an extensive operation and likely
insertion of a homograft. Early transient ischemic attacks
or amaurosis fugax, probably related to the extensive raw
surface area, is a possibility but with the use of clopidogrel this appears to be reduced. Endocarditis can still
occur on late follow-up after reimplantation. Several
techniques and modiﬁcations have been described and
which is the ideal one is somewhat uncertain.
RESULTS Less than a 1% mortality rate for elective reimplantation is required to justify the operation as
a prophylactic operation. Midterm results better than 95%
freedom from reoperation at 10 years have been reported
[1, 14, 310, 313, 315-317, 321, 324, 325, 327, 328, 330].
Repair of a bicuspid valve in young patients may
result in good long-term results if in the ﬁrst 1 or 2 years
failure does not occur. The incidences of bleeding, stroke,
thromboembolic events, and infection are probably lower
than with mechanical valve replacements [312, 336]. Patients do not need to be on warfarin therapy after surgery.
CONS In most patients several steps may be required to
successfully repair the leaﬂets, including Cabrol sutures
at the commissures, leaﬂet plication with a Trussler stitch,
and ﬁgure-of-eight commissure apical sutures. That
requires experience and judgment to result in a successful procedure.
RESULTS An elective surgical mortality rate with or without
replacement of the ascending aorta should be less than
1% mortality. Long-term durability is better than 80% out
to 10 years, with most failures occurring the ﬁrst 2 years
after repair [1, 14, 69, 72, 310, 312, 315–318, 320, 321,
323–325, 327, 338].
17.3. Bicuspid Valve Repair With or Without Aortic
Tube Graft Replacement—Recommendations
CLASS I
1. All patients undergoing bicuspid repair should
undergo intraoperative TEE. (Level of evidence C)
2. Prophylactic antibiotics including both gram-positive
and gram-negative coverage should be used for
patients undergoing bicuspid valve repair. (Level of
evidence C)
3. Postoperative beta-blockers should be considered
after bicuspid valve repairs. (Level of evidence C)
PROS
17.4. Tailoring of Sinotubular Junction
In older or high-risk patients with mild to moderate
AR due to dilation of the of the sinotubular junction,
tailoring down the sinotubular junction to a normal size,
approximately 22 mm to 24 mm, depending on the
patient’s size, may result in good long-term durability
[1, 14, 314, 327, 334].
18. Management of Acute Aortic Root and
Ascending Aortic Dissection—Recommendations
Class I
1. Timely diagnosis is recommended utilizing crosssectional imaging techniques or TEE. The latter can
be performed in the operating room before sternotomy if needed to conﬁrm the diagnosis [1]. (Level of
evidence B)
2. Ascending aortic replacement (including resection of
primary aortic tear) should be performed for patients
with acute type A aortic dissection [1]. (Level of
evidence B)
3. An open distal anastomotic, hemiarch or total arch
replacement technique is effective for the distal
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Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
SPECIAL REPORT
SVENSSON ET AL
AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
reconstruction of an acute type A dissection [1]. (Level
of evidence B)
Ascending aortic and aortic arch replacement is
indicated for patients with acute type A aortic
dissection and a primary or secondary tear within the
arch that involves or extends beyond the left common
carotid arterial ostium with marked dilation of the
aortic arch (>50 mm). (Level of evidence C)
Aortic root replacement is indicated for patients with
acute type A aortic dissection and a primary tear that
extends or originates in the left or right coronary
sinuses or marked dilation (>45 mm) of the aortic root
below the sinotubular junction. (Level of evidence C)
Arterial inﬂow cannulation for cardiopulmonary
bypass during type A dissection repair should perfuse
the true lumen directly. (Level of evidence C)
Long-term radiologic surveillance after aortic dissection with or without surgical reconstruction should be
performed at regular intervals of at least every 6
months for the ﬁrst year and then annually. (Level of
evidence C)
Long-term annual echocardiographic surveillance is
recommended for patients in whom an aortic valvepreserving reconstruction or bioprosthetic valve
replacement was performed. (Level of evidence C)
Class IIa
1. It is reasonable to use ABP or RBP with HCA to
complete aortic arch reconstructions to reduce
neurologic complications [1]. (Level of evidence B)
2. It is reasonable to utilize either an aortic valve-sparing
or valve-replacement strategy when managing acute
type A dissection if an acceptably low mortality rate
can be achieved [1]. (Level of evidence B)
3. It is reasonable to treat acute type A IMH with urgent
surgical intervention [1]. (Level of evidence B)
4. Use of intraoperative TEE is encouraged [1]. (Level of
evidence B)
5. Postoperative, lifelong cross-sectional radiologic
surveillance is reasonable in patients with residual
aortic dissecting beyond the replaced aortic segment.
(Level of evidence C)
Class IIb
1. Medical management and longitudinal surveillance
may be considered to treat high-risk patients with
asymptomatic, radiologically stable type A IMH.
(Level of evidence C)
2. Medical management and longitudinal surveillance
may be considered in patients with type B dissections
involving the aortic arch. (Level of evidence C)
3. Annual echocardiography may be considered in type
A aortic dissection patients in whom the aortic valve
was resuspended, preserved or replaced with a bioprosthesis. (Level of evidence C)
Quality Measures
1. Prophylactic perioperative antibiotics should be given
for 24 to 48 hours at the surgeons discretion.
S45
2. Patients should be discharged on beta-blocker
therapy.
3. Patients with concomitant CAD should be discharged
on oral antiplatelet therapy.
4. Patients with concomitant CAD should be discharged
on drug therapy for lowering low-density lipoprotein
cholesterol.
5. ACE inhibitor therapy should be considered in
patients with low EF postoperatively.
The diagnosis and initial management of aortic
dissection patients was extensively reviewed in the 2010
guideline for the management of patients with thoracic
aortic disease produced by ACCF/AHA, AATS, and STS
[1]. The surgical treatment and guidelines from that
document are referred to in this manuscript.
The dismal prognosis (60% 1-year mortality) of medically managed acute type A aortic dissection was
demonstrated in 1991 [339]. Even before that time it was
apparent that acute surgical intervention through
replacement of the ascending aorta dramatically
reduced the acute mortality of type A dissection so that
centers of excellence now have hospital and 1-year
mortality rates of 5% to 26% (Table 5) [340–351]. Consequently, patients who present with acute type A aortic
dissection should undergo immediate ascending aortic
replacement except perhaps in cases of markedly
advanced age or comorbid status or those presenting with
devastating neurologic injury or bowel gangrene [352].
With respect to age, it is clear that outcomes are
considerably worse in the elderly; nevertheless,
appropriately selected patients, even into their ninth
decade, can have a reasonable survival with surgery
[353–357]. Equally, the presentation of acute devastating
stroke was in years past a recognized marker of very poor
outcome [349, 358]. However, in recent years evidence
has been accumulating that suggests that some patients
who present with signiﬁcant stroke, even coma and
acute type A aortic dissection, can have a reasonable
chance of survival with acute surgical intervention [345,
352, 359–361].
Acute type A IMH, a variant of aortic dissection, can
give rise to the same devastating complications as those
arising from acute type A aortic dissection [331]. Data
from the International Registry of Acute Aortic
Dissection database and others demonstrate that IMH,
while appearing to carry a better general prognosis than
overt dissection, still carries a signiﬁcantly better chance
of long-term survival with ascending aortic replacement
compared with medical management [362-368]. However,
given the more indolent course of many type A IMH
patients, delayed surgical intervention in high-risk
patients, and in selected cases medical management,
may be reasonable for clinically and radiologically stable
patients [362, 369].
The diagnosis of acute type A aortic dissection or IMH
is best achieved by CT angiography, magnetic resonance angiography, or TEE. Magnetic resonance angiography may be less practical in the setting of an acute
chest or back pain syndrome and should not delay
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1976–01
1992–02
RCP ¼ retrograde cerebral
Pts. ¼ patients;
NA ¼ not applicable;
AVR ¼ aortic valve replacement;
HCA ¼ hypothermic circulatory arrest;
Resusp. ¼ resuspension;
VSRR ¼ valve separate root repair.
ACP ¼ antegrade cerebral perfusion;
perfusion;
Replace. ¼ replacement;
19.7%
9.8%
5.7%
3.8%
14.6%
17%
75.9%
83%
31.7%
0%
0.9%
100%
39.7%
0%
NA
NA
NA
NA
32%
57%
NA
NA
NA
39%
28%
NA
100%
9.2%
12%
19%
4.4%
5%
67.7%
95%
16.4%
39%
NA
NA
NA
NA
18.7%
NA
17%
15%
NA
27.9%
315
163
4.7%
13%
15.6%
5%
26%
18%
13.9%
25%
24%
1.9%
5%
14.8%
11%
NA
NA
NA
NA
19.6%
24%
18%
20%
NA
NA
30%
32%
24.9%
78.5%
60%
15.8%
30%
NA
NA
70%
NA
56.4%
100%
29%
36%
100%
NA
12%
33%
46%
31%
100%
3%
17%
10%
NA
84%
83%
90%
NA
83%
76.8%
NA
81%
13%
2003–07
107
1979–03
195
1992–06
189
2000–06
120
1995–03 3,013
1984–05
175
1996–03
273
1996–01
526
1990–03
257
Sun et al, 2009
Stevens et al, 2009
Fattouch et al, 2009
Bakhtiary et al, 2008
Knipp et al, 2007
Zierer et al, 2007
IRAD, 2006
IRAD, 2005
Kallenbach, et al,
2004
Chiappini, et al, 2004
Bavaria, et al, 2002
No.
Pts.
Years
Study
Clamped
Distal
Open Distal/
Hemiarch
Total
Arch
HCA
Alone
HCA
RCP
HCA
ACP
Valve
Resusp.
Root
Replace.
VSRR
AVR þ
Supracor
Mortality
SPECIAL REPORT
SVENSSON ET AL
AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
Table 5. Results of Aortic Dissection Surgery
S46
Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66
timely surgical intervention. Consequently, it is appropriate to utilize CT angiography for diagnosis of
dissection given its speed, accuracy, and availability.
When the diagnosis is suspected or presumed based on
other objective data not intended to identify dissection
(such as TTE or chest radiography), it is reasonable to
forego additional imaging and perform deﬁnitive TEE
intraoperatively before opening the patient’s chest.
Serum D-dimer level is a remarkably sensitive but not
speciﬁc biomarker for acute aortic dissection [370]. Once
the diagnosis is made, most centers usually do not
perform preoperative coronary angiography as
a routine because it may delay operative intervention
[371–373]. If, however, coronary angiography can be
performed while the operating room is being prepared,
this is reasonable. For patients with a high risk for CAD,
coronary angiography may be a good option for hemodynamically stable patients [1].
The primary goals of type A aortic dissection repair
should be to remove the primary tear site, to restore
aortic valvular competency, and to reconstitute true
lumen ﬂow while obliterating false lumen blood ﬂow in
hopes of collectively preventing rupture, myocardial
infarction, stroke, malperfusion, and death. Establishment of adequate arterial pressure monitoring from
multiple sites to ensure uniform perfusion throughout
the body during and after the reconstruction is important. The route of access to deliver arterial inﬂow for
acute aortic dissection continues to be debated without
resolution of superiority of technique (ie, axillary,
subclavian, femoral, or central aortic) [139, 341, 349,
374–381]. Regardless of access approach, it is imperative that true lumen cannulation is established and
maintained because false lumen cannulation and
perfusion can signiﬁcantly impair the adequacy of
regional tissue bed perfusion and increase the risk of
aortic disruption or stroke. Myocardial protection is
conventional, as with open heart surgery. Directed brain
monitoring and protection strategies are advocated by
some during aortic dissection repair to reduce the incidence of perioperative stroke [1].
The aortic root should be assessed to establish (1) the
candidacy for aortic valve preservation; (2) patency and
integrity of the coronary ostia; and (3) the need for aortic
root replacement. The same factors that impact aortic
valve management in the setting of isolated AS or AR are
relevant at the time of aortic dissection repair with the
additional factor that patient longevity is signiﬁcantly
impacted by the dissection process itself particularly in
patients with residual arch and descending thoracic arch
dissection and a patent false lumen [346, 382–384]. With
10-year survival ranging from 40% to 80% among
surgically treated patients with type A dissection, bioprosthetic AVR may often be appropriate [351, 369,
385–388].
The distal extent of aortic replacement should be
dependent on the presence and extent of an aortic tear
(not extent of dissection) in the aortic arch, aortic arch
diameter, and the ability to perform a durable distal
anastomosis that will adequately restore distal true lumen
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SPECIAL REPORT
SVENSSON ET AL
AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
ﬂow and exclude false lumen ﬂow. In the majority of
cases, with the possible exception of DeBakey type II
dissections, the distal reconstruction requires a period of
circulatory arrest to allow for open interrogation and
reconstruction of the aortic arch. Successful circulatory
arrest outcomes are realized with the use of deep HCA
and, more recently, with moderate hypothermia used in
conjunction with unilateral or bilateral ABP. The addition
of either ABP or RBP may allow for safer, longer circulatory arrest periods with lower brain complications.
Single-institution comparisons of circulatory arrest and
brain perfusion strategies have been inconclusive in
demonstrating superiority of HCA with ABP or HCA with
RBP compared with HCA alone [337, 389-394]. Reliable
comparisons of HCA with ABP to HCA with RBP are
scant largely because of institutional biases directing one
strategy over the other. There has been a trend worldwide
toward evolving from a strategy of deep HCA (14 C to
18 C) HCA with ABP or RBP to moderate HCA (25 C to
30 C) with ABP with the enthusiasm based on apparently
equivalent results with the beneﬁt of shorter cardiopulmonary bypass time [374, 380, 395]. However, reported
series to date have included predominantly elective aortic
arch surgeries, not aortic dissection repairs, which may
require longer circulatory arrest periods for complex
repairs. Furthermore, the incidence of multiple organ
failure, because of poor visceral protection, may be
greater.
There is a divergence of expert opinion on the safety of
applying a total arch replacement strategy to the majority
of acute type A dissections (based largely on the Japanese
experience) as opposed to the more limited open distal or
hemiarch replacement strategy that is generally favored
worldwide. This discrepancy persists because of
continued concerns that broadly applied total arch
replacement for type A aortic dissection invokes a higher
risk of morbidity and mortality. The addition of endovascular stents at the time of the repair is still being
investigated.
Optimal aortic wall repair strategies at either the
proximal or distal extent of ascending aortic replacement
continue to evolve; these have included neomedial
reconstruction, intimal and adventitial reinforcement
with felt, and biologic glues [349, 396, 397]. Early enthusiasm for the use of “biologic” glues has waned more
recently because of reports of tissue necrosis, anastomotic
breakdown, pseudoaneurysm formation, and embolization [398–402].
Longitudinal radiologic surveillance (through CT
angiography or magnetic resonance angiography)
after the diagnosis or repair of aortic dissection
should be routinely performed. When renal insufﬁciency
is present, consideration should be given to alter
a surveillance strategy to eliminate the incidence of
contrast-induced nephropathy by using unenhanced
imaging techniques that still offer the minimum of
quantifying diameter and aneurysmal growth. Surveillance over the course of the ﬁrst year after aortic
dissection should be every 6 months to allow identiﬁcation of patients with rapidly expanding aneurysmal
S47
dissections who are at greatest risk for a second aortic
catastrophe, and thereafter annually.
Results
Hospital mortality after type A aortic dissection repair in
the current era ranges between 5% and 26% (Table 1)
[341–343, 345–351]. This fairly broad range of reported
hospital mortality reﬂects data accumulated over many
years when treatment protocols were evolving and institutional infrastructures, experience, and treatment biases
were changing. Neurologic complication rates are even
more difﬁcult to compare among the treatment strategies
because neurologic outcome reporting has been widely
variable. Neurologic complication rates range from 2.8%
to 30% depending on the inclusion of permanent stroke,
paraplegia, and temporary neurologic dysfunction [337,
341–343, 345–351, 354, 361, 389, 391–393].
19. Ascending Aorta and Aortic
Arch—Recommendations
Class I
1. All patients with suspected thoracic aortic disease on
the basis of family history, symptoms, or physical
examination should have the entire thoracic aorta
imaged. (Level of evidence C)
2. All patients with a bicuspid aortic valve should
undergo imaging of the thoracic aorta [1]. (Level of
evidence B)
3. All patients with Marfan syndrome or Loeys-Dietz
syndrome or mutations associated with aortic
disease or dissection should have the entire aorta
imaged and appropriate blood testing performed for
genetic mutations [1]. (Level of evidence B)
4. First-degree relatives of young patients with
a bicuspid aortic valve or genetic mutation associated
aortic disease of the thoracic aortic disease should be
advised to be further investigated. (Level of evidence
C)
5. All patients for whom planned elective valvular
surgery is planned and who have associated thoracic
aortic disease should undergo preoperative cardiac
catheterization [1]. (Level of evidence B)
6. Additional testing to quantitate a patient’s comorbid
status and develop a risk proﬁle is recommended.
These tests may include for particularly high-risk
patients CT of the chest if not already done, PFTs,
24-hour Holter monitoring, noninvasive carotid
screening, brain imaging, echocardiography, neurocognitive testing, and assessment of degree of frailty.
(Level of evidence C)
7. Intraoperative TEE is recommended for all patients
undergoing surgery for thoracic aortic disease. (Level
of evidence C)
8. Surgical repair is recommended when the ascending
aorta or aortic root exceeds 5.5 cm if the patient has
no genetically based aortic disease and is otherwise
a suitable candidate for surgery [1]. (Level of
evidence B)
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9. Patients with genetically associated aortic diseases,
including those with a bicuspid aortic valve, should
undergo surgery at diameters exceeding 5.0 cm
unless a family history of aortic dissection is present,
then it is acceptable to lower the threshold to 4.5 cm.
Alternatively, patients with a maximal ascending
aortic area (Pr2, cm2) to height in meters ratio
exceeding 10 should be considered for surgery [1].
(Level of evidence B)
10. Patients with a growth rate exceeding 0.5 cm per year
should be recommended to undergo surgery if no
other limitations apply [1]. (Level of evidence B)
11. For patients with Loeys-Dietz syndrome or
conﬁrmed TGFBR1 or TGFBR2 mutation should be
evaluated for repair of the aorta when the diameter
exceeds 4.2 cm. (Level of evidence C)
12. For patients undergoing cardiac surgery other than for
aortic indications, aortic repair is recommended when
diameter exceeds 4.5 cm [1]. (Level of evidence B)
13. Aortic diameters should be measured at right angles
to the axis of ﬂow, which requires the use of threedimensional reconstructive software. The maximal
diameters at each segment of the aorta should be
reported. Echocardiography measures internal
diameters while CT and MRI measures external
diameters, and thus some allowance should be made
for echocardiographic measurements being smaller.
(Level of evidence C)
14. Separate valve and ascending aortic replacement are
recommended for patients without signiﬁcant aortic
root dilation, for elderly patients, and for young
patients with minimal dilation in whom a biological
valve is being inserted or a bicuspid valve is being
repaired [1]. (Level of evidence B)
15. Patients with Marfan, Loeys-Dietz, and EhlersDanlos syndromes and root dilation should
undergo excision of the sinuses in combination with
a modiﬁed David valve reimplantation procedure if
technically feasible or insertion of a valve graft
conduit [1]. (Level of evidence B)
16. For more complicated arch reconstructions requiring
extended periods of circulatory arrest, use of
adjunctive brain perfusion techniques is recommended [1]. (Level of evidence B)
Class IIa
1. Regular echocardiography and MRI or CT evaluation
after repair of thoracic aortic disease is reasonable.
(Level of evidence C)
Quality Measures
1. Prophylactic antibiotics for both gram-negative and
gram-positive coverage should be administered for
the operative procedure.
2. Intraoperative TEE is recommended in all patients.
3. All patients with a bicuspid aortic valve, Marfan,
Loeys-Dietz, and Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, and
a history consistent with familial thoracic aortic
Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66
disease the ﬁrst-degree relatives should undergo
imaging of the thoracic aorta.
4. MRI or CT evaluation should be considered after
surgical repair.
5. ACE inhibitor therapy should be considered in
patients with low EF postoperatively.
Repair of the ascending aorta and/or the arch entails
resection of the diseased aortic segment and replacement
with an interposition conduit. Currently, the procedure is
performed with cardiopulmonary bypass and cardiac
arrest with or without HCA. Patients with ascending
aneurysms often have concomitant aortic valve or root
pathology, which may be addressed simultaneously.
Patients with arch disease often have multisegment
involvement, and so arch repair is usually combined with
ascending repair to address proximal pathology and the
elephant trunk procedure is used to prepare for later
treatment of distal aortic pathology.
Pros
Ascending and arch aortic aneurysms predictably lead to
dissection, rupture, and death depending on size,
morphology, and etiology of the disease [328, 403, 404].
Occasionally a very large aneurysm or those associated
with anomalous vasculature can cause focal compressive
symptoms. Otherwise, most aneurysms are found incidentally or by screening those known to be at elevated
risk for aneurysm formation such as those with Marfan
syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome, familial thoracic aortic
disease, a bicuspid aortic valve, or other mutations associated with aortic disease [405–407]. Indications for
operative repair of the proximal aorta in asymptomatic
patients are based on the predictability of death from
aortic complications. Surgery is indicated when the risk of
aortic complications outweighs the risk of repair. Elective
prophylactic repair can be performed safely and durably
with experience and proper patient selection for all variations of proximal aortic repair, even the most extensive
disease [338, 408–419]. Timely repair of aortic aneurysms
prolongs survival and approaches that of age-matched
controls in select populations [72, 407, 413] (Figs 24–27).
Clearly, the institutional outcomes and experience must
be taken into account when recommending prophylactic
surgery since the operative death risk must be lower than
that of the risk of dissection or rupture.
Cons
Emergency repair of dissection or rupture can be lifesaving, but these patients are clearly at higher operative
risk than patients undergoing elective prophylactic repair
[411, 412, 415]. The challenge is to balance the risks of
aortic complications against the risk of aortic repair.
Serious acute complications of proximal aortic repair
include death, stroke, and respiratory failure [338, 411,
415, 419]. Elderly patients and patients with emergency
indications may be at higher risk for perioperative
bleeding. Patients with atherosclerotic and atheromatous
disease involving the arch are at increased risk of embolic
stroke [338, 411, 414, 415]. Although the use of circulatory
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SPECIAL REPORT
SVENSSON ET AL
AORTIC VALVE/ASCENDING AORTA MANAGEMENT & QUALITY MEASURES
arrest theoretically reduces the risk of embolization by
minimizing the need for aortic manipulation, longer
periods of circulatory arrest and cardiopulmonary bypass
are associated with neurologic deﬁcit [338]. It is important
to note that patients successfully operated on for aortic
dissection have a markedly reduced late survival rate.
Results
Mortality associated with ascending or arch aortic repair
ranges from less than 1% to 15% depending on the
urgency, operative center, and indications [338, 408–419].
Emergency indications, older age, and more extensive
repair in the arch requiring longer pump times are
predictive of worse outcome. At experienced centers,
mortality for primary elective repair of the ascending
aorta is consistently less than 5% and is reported by some
centers to be 1%. Rates of perioperative stroke range from
0% to 7% depending on the atheroma burden in the aortic
arch, cardiopulmonary bypass time, and the duration of
circulatory arrest [338, 411, 414, 419]. The risk of stroke
increases signiﬁcantly during circulatory arrest lasting
more than 40 minutes [338]. Reoperation for bleeding
occurs in less than 5% [413] but may be as high as 17%
of patients with the most extensive disease. Long-term
survival ranges from 50% to 93% at 10 years [410–413].
Further Research Needed
Endovascular therapies have quickly made a major impact
in the treatment of disease involving the descending aorta.
Several reports describe the use of this technology in the
ascending aorta and aortic arch either as purely endovascular repair or as a hybrid approach in combination with
open surgery [420]. Feasibility has been documented with
these approaches but further device development and
understanding of the disease processes is necessary.
There is a need for additional studies focused on
outcomes for various subsets of proximal aortic repair
based on morphology and etiology. There is a need for
improved genetic and biologic understanding of the
mechanisms of aneurysm formation and directed
medical prophylaxis to slow the process [421].
20. Statistical Analysis of Procedure Success, Safety,
and Long-Term Effectiveness
Over the last 5 decades, a number of events and longitudinal processes have been observed and documented
after aortic valve and ascending aorta repair and
replacement that relate to procedure success (whether the
intended procedure was accomplished as intended [ease
of insertion]), safety (whether the device inserted, the
repair, or the procedure to accomplish these has caused
patient morbidity directly or indirectly), and effectiveness
(whether the device or repair accomplished its intended
purpose of providing clinical beneﬁt versus nonintervention). Typical examples of procedure success include
secure ﬁxation and deployment of a prosthetic heart
valve, secure replacement of the ascending aorta, and
repair of a purely regurgitant aortic valve without introducing stenosis or leaving residual regurgitation. Typical
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examples of safety include the risk of systemic emboli
necessitating anticoagulation of a thrombogenic heart
valve replacement device with its attendant risks of
hemorrhage, catastrophic prosthesis failure, prosthetic
valve endocarditis, hemolysis from periprosthetic regurgitation, stroke, paraplegia, and death early after
a procedure. Typical examples of effectiveness are elimination or substantial reduction of gradient across the LV
outﬂow tract by valve replacement (giving rise to terms of
reduced beneﬁt such as PPM [12]), durability of repair,
decreased hospitalizations for valve-related heart
failure, and ﬁnally long-term patient survival.
A number of quantitative and qualitative measures
for success, safety, and effectiveness and their deﬁnitions have served the surgical community for decades,
are well understood by readers of the surgical literature,
and are embodied in regulations such as those of the
FDA. With advent of percutaneous and endovascular
techniques to address these heretofore surgical diseases,
a new group of interventionalists coming from different
backgrounds, training, and experience is just now
becoming familiar with these measures. This is resulting
in reﬁnement of deﬁnitions and development of
joint documents by surgeons and interventional cardiologists (Table 4) [422].
In addition, because of 50 years of experience, standards have been set for many long-term safety and
durability measures in terms of objective performance
criteria with which new heart valve prostheses must
comply [423, 424]. These standards of comparison are not
well suited to new types of devices applied to patient
populations not formerly considered for open cardiac
surgery.
In 2008 the AATS, the STS, and the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery revised guidelines,
ﬁrst issued in 1988, for reporting mortality and
morbidity after heart valve interventions [159, 425, 426].
These guidelines do not clearly differentiate procedure
success, safety, and effectiveness measures. Rather, they
establish deﬁnitions of morbidity that are applicable to
at least AVR, including TAVR, although not explicitly
addressing those speciﬁc to either TAVR or ascending
aorta procedures.
In the preceding text, a number of measures, including
observations, complications and morbidity, time-related
events, and longitudinal data have been described. In
many trials, including those with FDA encouragement,
composite endpoints have been used to measure device
success. The challenge of composite endpoints, however,
is that they combine different types of data, for example,
death (binary data), stroke (time-dependent event), and
NYHA functional class or aortic valve regurgitation
(longitudinal time-dependent data).
In the following text, some of these will be categorized
into measures of procedure success, safety, and effectiveness, with remarks about some that contain elements
arguably related to two or all categories. In a ﬁnal section
we will highlight appropriate data analysis methods that
amplify those of Section 5 of the 2008 valve reporting
guidelines [159].
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20.1. Procedure Success
Although procedural success—whether the intended
procedure was accomplished as intended—has been
implicit in surgical thinking from the beginning of heart
valve replacement and treatment of the diseased
ascending aorta, the advent of TAVR has made it
important to be explicit. Questions today such as whether
or not the valve was deployed, has been deployed to its
intended location, been expanded properly or has
required open AVR or transcatheter valve-in-valve, and
patients left with minimal periprosthetic leakage mirror
questions in previous decades, such as whether the minor
and major oriﬁces of a mechanical prosthesis have been
properly directed, whether there is periprosthetic
leakage, or whether both leaﬂets of a bileaﬂet prosthetic
valve are opening and closing.
In general, deﬁnitions of procedural success are
dependent on the particular procedure performed. For
TAVR, Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC)
participants have proposed a technical composite
endpoint that includes successful vascular access,
delivery and deployment of the device, and successful
retrieval of the delivery system; correct positioning of the
device; achieving intended performance of the prosthesis;
and only the ﬁrst valve deployed implanted in the
intended location [422].
Some aspects of procedure success become measures
of safety when success has not been achieved. A prosthesis may be properly seated but obstruct a coronary
artery oriﬁce; an ascending aortic posterior suture line
may leak and require reoperation to stop bleeding and
prevent pseudoaneurysm formation; a percutaneous
valve may migrate; simple AVR in an elderly woman with
a thick septum may lead to LV cavity obliteration and
outﬂow gradient [427].
20.2. Safety
Traditionally, safety—whether the procedure has caused
patient morbidity directly or indirectly—has been
assessed in terms of events that occur either in-hospital,
within 30 days of the procedure, or a composite of
hospital death and deaths within 30 days for patients
discharged alive before 30 days [422, 423]. However, for
aortic valve repair and replacement, and surgery on the
ascending aorta, it has long been recognized that there
are also long-term safety measures that must be evaluated [159, 177].
20.2.1. SHORT-TERM SAFETY MEASURES Nearly all the morbidities identiﬁed in surgical society guidelines, by the FDA,
and by watchdog groups have now also been included in
the VARC deﬁnitions [159, 422, 425, 426]. The choice of inhospital or 30 days is arbitrary, and scientiﬁcally should
include the entire early hazard phase, which may be
considerably prolonged beyond 30 days. In the United
States, a period of 90 days is considered the extent of
recovery from major procedures such as valve replacement or ascending aorta surgery. This period was adopted by the surgical community in their guidelines but not
by the VARC [159, 422]. From a practical perspective,
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ascertaining 30- or 90-day morbidity events requires
active follow-up of all patients, and that may not be
economically feasible.
20.2.2.
LONG-TERM
SAFETY
MEASURES Long-term
safety
measures include nonstructural dysfunction of many
types, ranging from periprosthetic leakage to hemolysis
to panus ingrowth, valve thrombosis, stroke from
thromboembolism, anticoagulant-related bleeding, prosthetic valve endocarditis, higher risk of stroke, and
complications of reintervention. Long-term safety
measures also include catastrophic structural prosthesis
failure, such as outlet strut fracture and occluder escape
observed with the Bjork-Shiley mechanical valve [159,
428, 429]. For surgical AVR, the FDA has focused on
developing objective performance criteria for safety
events and determining the necessary amount of longterm active follow-up (length and number of patients)
to adequately assess risks with meaningfully narrow
conﬁdence limits.
There are patient-related risk factors associated with
some of these safety endpoints. For example, a person
experiencing a preimplant stroke is at increased risk of a
postimplant stroke. Similarly, once a person has had a
thromboembolism, he or she is at increased risk of
another event [430]. Thus, we consider the interaction of
patients with thrombogenicity of their implanted
prosthesis to constitute a potential danger of these
devices, and therefore that is a safety issue.
20.3. Long-Term Effectiveness
Effectiveness—whether the device or repair is accomplishing its intended purpose of providing clinical beneﬁt—of AVR can be assessed by (1) prosthetic valve
performance, (2) patient longevity, and (3) patient wellbeing.
20.3.1. PROSTHETIC VALVE PERFORMANCE The intended purpose
of AVR or repair is to produce a competent valve with
minimal stenosis or valvular leakage, including perivalvular. All prosthetic devices incur transprosthesis
energy loss, usually estimated as a pressure gradient that
increases in vivo with exercise [431–433]. In some
patients, stenosis produced by the prosthesis is of sufﬁcient severity to cause symptoms, called PPM [12]. There
is currently considerable controversy as to how serious
a problem this is. Surprisingly, echocardiographic
longitudinal valve gradient data (often expressed as
EOA) by prosthesis type, model, and size (in itself
a controversial issue) are sparse.
In addition to effectiveness of valve replacement on
relieving native AS or AR, performance of prosthetic
heart valves includes intrinsic properties, such as static
and dynamic in vitro performance. In vivo indirect estimates of performance include reversal of heart chamber
and myocardial remodeling. A prosthetic valve should
reverse morphologic and functional changes brought
about by aortic valve disease to the extent that permanent
damage remits. These, too, are longitudinal data.
Generally, changes occur most rapidly in the ﬁrst few
months after valve replacement, then plateau. As noted,
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some remodeling cannot be reversed, such as myocardial
ﬁbrosis in AS leading to long-standing diastolic
dysfunction or the continuing inﬂammatory processes of
rheumatic heart disease.
Bioprostheses in particular exhibit longitudinal reduction in performance from intrinsic prosthesis deterioration, or SVD. Over time, this may lead to regurgitation or
stenosis that may eventuate in device replacement. The
rate of deterioration accelerates across time, well characterized by a Weibull function [434]. A universally found
risk factor for accelerating this rate is younger age at
implant [14]. Periodic, routine echocardiographic
surveillance is required to detect SVD and to determine
timing of reintervention.
Structural valve deterioration of certain bioprosthesis is
a slow process occurring over 10 to 20 years. This slow
process is characterized as intrinsic durability. Other
bioprosthesis may exhibit more rapid, but usually not
catastrophic, failure that requires reoperation. For practical reasons, SVD classically has been assessed as time to
reoperation to replace the prosthesis rather than as the
longitudinal process it is. Reoperation for SVD has the
advantage of being a hard endpoint that can be portrayed
actuarially, but the disadvantage is inherent bias (generally underestimation) introduced by variation in indication and timing of reintervention by primary physicians,
cardiologists, surgeons, and patients themselves.
Durability of aortic valve repair is generally assessed by
echocardiographic estimates of developing stenosis or
regurgitation. These are longitudinal data representing
“snapshots in time” of the state of the repair and not time-toevent data. Accuracy of evaluating durability of valve repair
depends on intensity of echocardiographic assessment.
20.3.2. LONGEVITY A primary clinical beneﬁt of aortic valve
repair or replacement and of repair of the ascending aorta
versus nonintervention (medical) therapy is prolonging
life. This endpoint can be estimated by assessing timerelated, long-term all-cause mortality and comparing it
with natural history without intervention (or to noninterventional therapy) [435]. It may be argued that this
hard endpoint is diluted by non–valve-related causes of
death and by deaths associated with valve-related
morbidity (safety). Attempts to deﬁne valve-related or
cardiac-related death as a more speciﬁc endpoint are
thwarted by subjectivity, poor family reporting, ever
diminishing autopsy investigation, inaccurate mode of
death reported on death certiﬁcates, and increasing use
of national death registries that poorly differentiate mode
of death, if at all.
Compounding estimation of effectiveness of preventing
premature death is the lack of contemporary data on
natural history of aortic valve and ascending aorta
disease. Even the report of PARTNER data involves
a highly select group of “natural history” patients [81,
240]. Thus, inferences about clinical beneﬁt rely on data
from an era of not only no valve replacement, but also less
sophisticated medical therapy [435].
A controversial way that mortality after valve replacement has been assessed has been to informally compare it
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with that of an age-race-sex–matched reference population. Use of such a reference standard began in the ﬁeld
of oncology when it was suggested that “cure” in a population sense was when survival of the treated population
was commensurate with that of the matched population
life table [436]. It is argued on the one hand that the
“noise” of nonrelated causes of death is reﬂected in this
general population reference; it has been argued on the
other hand that such a reference assumes incorrectly
that patients undergoing heart valve procedures are
representative of the general population. Indeed, for
elderly patients, a subset is selected that is likely to have
good long-term survival and indeed after AVR, patients
after the age of 80 years have better survival than the
general population. Nevertheless, the general ﬁnding that
the younger the patient at AVR, the worse is his or her
survival with respect to the general population is valuable
information for stimulating research directed toward
increasing the beneﬁts of valve replacement [435].
20.3.3. PATIENT WELL-BEING Patient well-being classically has
been assessed by the nonamended original deﬁnition of
the NYHA functional classes. This graded variable
(statistically known as an ordinal variable) is subjective,
but can be made less so by assessing the individual data
elements stipulated for each classiﬁcation and deriving
NYHA class algorithmically. Going a step further, the 6minute walk test or 5-meter walk test in trial patients
make more objective those less speciﬁc data elements
related to ability to walk certain distances; the 5-meter
walk test is easier to administer [93, 437].
Two important analytic issues arise with self-reported
well-being assessment instruments: (1) interruption of
the longitudinal sequence of assessments by death, and
(2) recognition that these instruments capture a snapshot
in time and require a longitudinal sequence of reassessments to identify a pattern of change in a particular
patient set [438]. Some have addressed death by coding it
as NYHA class V; others have imputed the lowest scores
on quality-of-life instruments. An assumption is that
there is steady deterioration of well-being to death from
valve-related disease, but that does not account for other
unrelated and competing modes of death.
Despite many years of AVR experience, there is
a paucity of reports on longitudinal well-being assessment by instruments other than NYHA functional class.
A common error in reports that have been published has
been the assumption that assessment results are events
(eg, status at last follow-up) rather than as a sequence of
snapshots in time, for which longitudinal data analysis
methods must be applied. There are also limited data on
functional health status assessed objectively, such as by
serial formal exercise testing.
20.4. Statistical Analysis
The measurements, events, and longitudinal data described
for procedure success, short- and long-term safety, and
effectiveness can be grouped into three general types of
analysis: analysis of static (non–time-related) data, analysis
of time-to-event data, and analysis of longitudinal data.
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Observation of
procedure success and short-term morbidity can be
expressed in a non–time-related fashion by descriptive
summary statistics. These include means and standard
deviations for continuous variables unless the distribution of values is skewed, in which case typically
nonparametric median and percentiles are appropriate.
Events are summarized by simple proportions accompanied by conﬁdence limits (intervals). These may be
compared with external standards such as risk-adjusted
estimates of observed versus predicted proportions
based on the STS ACSD [84].
Analysis of these data to generate risk-adjusted
assessment has generally used parametric models such
as linear regression for continuous variables and logistic
regression for binary variables. Limitations of this
approach include the additive assumption of these
models (each factor considered is weighted by a coefﬁcient that accounts for all other variables in the models
and these weighted factors are added together). Another
assumption is that the scale of measurement for continuous variables is linear with respect to model assumptions, which may not be true. These limitations can be
circumvented by considering multiplicative factors and
by transformation of measurement scale, respectively.
Alternatively,
machine-learning
non–model-based
equivalents of linear and logistic regression may be used;
this includes random forest methodology [439, 440] that
automatically accounts for complex interactions among
variables and nonlinearities with respect to the outcomes
assessed.
20.4.2. ANALYSIS OF TIME-RELATED EVENTS For so-called terminating events (death, removal of a prosthesis, and other
one-time events), the most common non–model-based
estimator is the Kaplan-Meier product-limit actuarial
method. This method is deﬁned in the probability
domain. An alternative is the Nelson estimator, which is
deﬁned in the cumulative hazard domain [441]. Both
yield comparable results. The advantage of the Nelson
method is that it can also accommodate repeating
(nonterminating) events, such as thromboembolism and
bleeding episodes. A new Kaplan-Meier or Nelson estimate is made at the time of occurrence of each event.
Generally, these estimates are portrayed graphically
across time. These estimates should be accompanied at
least periodically by conﬁdence limits and a depiction of
number of patients traced beyond a given set of points in
time.
The temporal pattern of risk of time-related events is
expressed by the hazard function (instantaneous risk of
an event). Nonparametric estimates of the hazard function are usually noisy, so parametric methods may be
used to estimate the temporal pattern of risk [442]. A ﬂaw
in statistical analysis of some long-term safety events is
that it has often been assumed that risk remains the same
across time (constant hazard at a so-called linearized rate)
[443]. This assumption makes computations of hazard
rates simple, namely, the number of events observed
divided by the patient-years of follow-up. However, the
assumption may not be true. For example, prosthetic
20.4.1. ANALYSIS OF STATIC MEASUREMENTS
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valve endocarditis generally has an early peaking hazard
phase followed by a lower constant hazard phase; that
means that in short follow-up the linearized rate will be
high, and in longer-term follow-up lower. Structural
valve deterioration has an accelerated late hazard; the
linearized rate is small for short follow-up and large for
longer follow-up. Characterizing the actual hazard function is not difﬁcult and is recommended; a constant
hazard may be conﬁrmed [444].
If a device is itself being characterized, it can be argued
that patient death is merely a censoring mechanism, just
like end of follow-up or removal of the device, and that
Kaplan-Meier or Nelson estimates are appropriate [445].
The estimates accurately assess the probability or risk of
events related to an aortic valve prosthesis. When
estimating the probability of an individual patient
experiencing a valve-related event, the patient is the
unit of interest, and other competing risks such as death
must be considered. These estimates will be highly
patient-speciﬁc, because there are many patient factors
that relate to long-term mortality. A limitation of
competing risk estimates is that it is assumed that the
valve events and the patient’s demise are unrelated
(noninformative censoring). That may not be true, and
methods to estimate the magnitude of informative
censoring are an active topic of statistical research [446].
Not addressed by surgical or VARC guidelines is an
estimate of the adverse effect of safety events on
longevity. One way to assess the effect is to estimate
survival after occurrence of the safety event. In a population, these events should result in an acute decrease in
survival. A second way is to analyze safety events as timevarying covariables in one of two ways: as abrupt changes
in level of the hazard function (the most common
approach) or as a modulation of hazard (modulated
renewal analysis, commonly performed in industrial
settings) [447]. Time-varying covariable analysis has two
advantages. First, it permits one to assess quantitatively
the effect of the events. Second, it permits calculation of
potential survival were these events not to have occurred.
Risk factors may be associated with shorter time to
events. The two most common approaches for identifying
risk factors have been (1) semiparametric Cox proportional hazard regression [448] and (2) parametric
multiphase hazard function regression [442]. For some
events, particularly mortality, the proportionality
assumption of Cox regression is not reasonable;
generally, factors related to early mortality have to do
with the status of the patient at operation, whereas
factors related to late mortality have more to do with
chronic comorbidities (including age). Multiphase
hazard regression accounts for nonproportional hazards
and permits identiﬁcation of variables that relate to
different temporal phases of risk. An alternative to both
of these methods is machine learning nonparametric
methods such as the random forest survival method [440].
20.4.3. ANALYSIS OF LONGITUDINAL DATA Longitudinal data may
be continuous (transprosthesis gradient), ordinal (NYHA
functional class), or binary (episodes of atrial ﬁbrillation).
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Values for these outcomes are generally assessed at
infrequent intervals that vary from patient to patient. As
for competing risks, any series of measurements is truncated by demise of the patient. A universal characteristic
of longitudinal repeated measures data is that variability
within the sequence of measurements for a given patient
is less than variability among different patients. Thus
statistical analysis must take into account these two
sources of variability [449, 450].
Unfortunately, current standard statistical packages
tend not to have procedures that model ﬁrst the underlying ensemble average temporal pattern and then
identify factors associated with modulation of that longitudinal pattern. However, progress is being made in
developing such methods.
There are important limitations in analysis of longitudinal data. Patients experiencing symptoms or suspected
of having developing problems may be assessed more
often than those not having these. The result is an estimated ensemble average weighted (biased) unfavorably.
A second limitation is wide variation in assessment
frequency. A third limitation is that device removal and
death compete with continued longitudinal assessment. It
is assumed that these events are unrelated to longitudinal
evolution of data. This is certainly not true, for example,
of SVD. Methods to assess the effect of evolving longitudinal status data on events such as death are an active
area of statistical research.
20.5. Future Needs
Over the last 5 decades, terminology for describing, and
methods for assessing, success, safety, and long-term
effectiveness of aortic valve and thoracic aorta replacement developed within the framework of single disciplines. With advent of percutaneous and endovascular
techniques, more attention must be focused on accurate
and harmonized deﬁnitions, cross-disciplinary data,
robust long-term surveillance, and more meaningful
analysis using new analytic methods.
20.5.1. DEFINITIONS Deﬁnitions of postprocedural events that
evolved within single disciplines now require shared
understanding of their meaning and standardized deﬁnitions. Cardiologists may not understand the term
“structural valve deterioration” even after reading its
surgical deﬁnition; surgeons may not understand cardiologists’ focus on major adverse cardiac events, which
grew out of reporting adverse events related to ischemic
heart disease interventions; cardiovascular surgeons may
not know the deﬁnitions of types I to V endovascular leak
nor appreciate their importance; none of the disciplines
may understand current nomenclature and diagnostic
criteria for strokes that continue to evolve in neurology.
Thus, there is increasing need for, and value in, a shared
nomenclature with clear deﬁnitions harmonized across
disciplines.
20.5.2. DATA With procedures for the same diagnosis
increasingly carried out in different departments by physicians with differing background and training, and with
differing local, regional, national, and international
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reporting mechanisms, it has become increasingly difﬁcult
to monitor comprehensively the success, safety, and effectiveness of treating aortic valve and thoracic aorta disease.
Cardiac surgeons report to the STS ACSD and interventional cardiologists to the ACC national cardiovascular data
registry. Vascular surgeons performing endovascular
procedures have limited national reporting. Yet all these
databases, assembled along traditional discipline lines for
assessing and improving quality, need to be consolidated
across these lines and barriers. The efforts of both STS and
ACC to address these issues, particularly for TAVR, are
a step forward. In the USA, for CMS payment, reporting to
the ACC/STS TVT registry is required and further studies
on outcomes and appropriateness use are expected.
20.5.3. RANDOMIZED TRIALS Objective performance criteria
have been the mainstay of past assessment of new cardiac
valves [424]. Increasingly, randomized trials will be
required until new objective performance criteria can be
established. Likely, randomized trials will compare
existing devices and procedures against new or
modiﬁed devices and not new devices against untreated
natural history or medical therapy alone.
20.5.4. SURVEILLANCE Long-term surveillance for safety and
effectiveness is resource intensive and may not be
economically sustainable. Increasingly active patient
follow-up is being hampered by conﬁdentiality and
privacy regulations and idiosyncratic interpretation of
these by local institutional review boards. Three alternatives to traditional follow-up are emerging. The ﬁrst is
reliance on national registries for vital status [451, 452].
These registries do not, however, help in detecting adverse
nonfatal events. The second is linkage of data to either
private or national insurers and payors to assemble
a longitudinal patient record that may document these
morbid events. The third is perhaps the most interesting:
social networks. Already, patients can report side effects of
neurologic drugs on Web sites such a patientslikeme.com.
Although the data are not risk adjusted, nor do they track
individual patients longitudinally, nor is it known how
representative the participants may be, as a general
surveillance method for adverse events, these networks
may be the most cost-effective follow-up mechanism.
20.5.5. ANALYTIC METHODS Both new and seldom-used
analytic methods are worth exploring in the future.
Many years ago, Wayne Nelson of General Electric
augmented time-to-event methods with cost of each
event: the cumulative cost function [441]. The cost can be
monetary; it can also be a scale of morbidity [442].
Earlier, machine learning methods were discussed.
These encompass a growing set of procedures that may
supplant parametric logistic regression and survival
models. They have superior predictive power compared
with traditional statistical models [453].
Longitudinal data analysis is still in its infancy.
However, the pervasiveness of those kind of data are
stimulating statistical development of the ﬁeld, although
translation into useful software is lagging. Just as machine
learning techniques have developed robust survival
analysis methods, no doubt robust machine-learning
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techniques for longitudinal data analysis will soon
emerge.
Finally, a particularly daunting statistical challenge is
assessing the interplay among evolving outcomes. What
is the inﬂuence of evolving bioprosthesis deterioration on
death or quality of life? What is the inﬂuence of residual
myocardial diastolic dysfunction on survival? How do risk
factors simultaneously inﬂuence the degree of coupling
between or among outcomes? Important questions such
as these are hard to answer at the present time, but
statistical scientists are developing theory and methods to
address this.
These and other new methods may at ﬁrst appear as
daunting to those caring for patients as were logistic
regression, actuarial analysis, and competing risks
analysis over the last 5 decades. To the extent, however,
that they help us generate important new knowledge
to better perform the right procedure for the right patient
at the right time, we should welcome them and try
to understand their place in the armamentarium of
methods to assess procedure success, safety, and longterm effectiveness of aortic valve and thoracic aorta
procedures.
21. Proposed National Quality Forum-Based
Quality Measures
1. Patients with valvular heart disease are evaluated by
multidisciplinary specialists including a cardiologist
and cardiac surgeon.
2. Preoperative echocardiography.
3. Preoperative CT for reoperation and TAVR.
4. Aortic stenosis indication less than 0.8 cm2 or 0.5
cm2/m2, plus gradient more than 40 mm Hg mean or
64 mm Hg peak (>4 m/s) for isolated stenotic valve.
5. Cardiac catheterization for patients aged more than
45 years.
6. Pulmonary function tests.
7. Prophylactic antibiotics with both gram-positive and
gram-negative coverage.
8. Antibiotics given within 30 minutes of incision.
9. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiogram.
10. Multidisciplinary evaluation and insertion team for
percutaneous AVR/TAVR.
11. Warfarin therapy for mechanical valves.
12. Aspirin or warfarin for biological valves.
13. ACE inhibitor therapy should be considered in
patients with low EF postoperatively.
14. Postoperative echocardiogram less than 30 days after
surgery.
22. Summary
These guidelines have summarized the current knowledge in the treatment of aortic valve and aortic disease.
Clearly there are many questions and these can only
partially be answered from incomplete data sets.
Undoubtedly, newer iterations will update these guidelines. The choice of the best procedure or valve for
patients is dependent on many factors as discussed above
and no procedure or device is ideal. Ultimately it is up to
Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66
Table 6. Summary of Valve Characteristics
Valve
BAVR
Reimplantation
Mechanical AVR
Ross
Stentless
Homograft
Hancock/Mosaic
Magna
Perimount
Trifecta
Perceval
Intuity
TAVR: PARTNER B
TAVR: PARTNER A
CoreValve
Ease Safety EOA Durability EF Survival
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
?
?
?
X
X
X
X
?
X
?
?
?
X
AVR ¼ aortic valve replacement;
BAVR ¼ bicuspid aortic valve
repair;
EF ¼ event-free;
EOA ¼ effective oriﬁce area;
PARTNER ¼ Placement of Aortic Transcatheter trial;
TAVR ¼
transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
the patient, the cardiologist, and surgeon to reach a decision on appropriate treatment. Table 6 summarizes the
beneﬁts of current devices relative to other options for
the relative target population.
We are grateful to Jesse Welsh, Rhonda Sweeney, and Tess Parry
for editorial assistance.
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Appendix 1: STS Data Collection Form for Valves,
Version 2.73
For STS data collection form for valves, version 2.73, see: http://
www.sts.org/sites/default/ﬁles/documents/STSAdultCVData
CollectionForm2_73.pdf and related information at: http://www.
sts.org/sts-national-database/database-managers/adult-cardiacsurgery-database/data-collection.
Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66
Appendix 2: Potential Author Conﬂicts of Interest
Due to Relationships With Industry and Other
Entities — Svensson LG, et al. Aortic Valve and
Ascending Aorta Guidelines for Management
and Quality Measures. Ann Thorac Surg
2013;95:S1–S66.
Author
Disclosure
(yes/no)
Lars G. Svensson
Yes
David H. Adams
Robert O. Bonow
Nicholas T. Kouchoukos
D. Craig Miller
Yes
No
No
Yes
Patrick T. O’Gara
David M. Shahian
Hartzell V. Schaff
Cary W. Akins
Joseph E. Bavaria
No
No
No
No
Yes
Eugene H. Blackstone
Tirone E. David
Nimesh D. Desai
Todd M. Dewey
Richard S. D’Agostino
Thomas G. Gleason
Katherine B. Harrington
Susheel Kodali
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Samir Kapadia
Martin B. Leon
Brian Lima
Bruce W. Lytle
Michael J. Mack
Michael Reardon
T. Brett Reece
G. Russell Reiss
Eric E. Roselli
Craig R. Smith
Vinod H. Thourani
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
E. Murat Tuzcu
John Webb
Mathew R. Williams
No
Yes
Yes
Downloaded from ats.ctsnetjournals.org by on May 28, 2013
If yes, name of
entity with which
relationship exists
or existed within
past 12 months
ValveXchange, Edwards
Lifesciences
Medtronic
Medtronic, St. Jude
Medical, Edwards
Lifesciences
Edwards Lifesciences,
St. Jude Medical
Edwards Lifesciences,
St. Jude Medical,
Thubrikar Aortic
Valve, Inc
Medtronic
St. Jude Medical,
Edwards Lifesciences,
Sorin
Edwards Lifesciences
Edwards Lifesciences,
Medtronic
Aortic Valve and Ascending Aorta Guidelines for Management and Quality
Measures
Lars G. Svensson, David H. Adams, Robert O. Bonow, Nicholas T. Kouchoukos, D.
Craig Miller, Patrick T. O'Gara, David M. Shahian, Hartzell V. Schaff, Cary W. Akins,
Joseph E. Bavaria, Eugene H. Blackstone, Tirone E. David, Nimesh D. Desai, Todd M.
Dewey, Richard S. D'Agostino, Thomas G. Gleason, Katherine B. Harrington, Susheel
Kodali, Samir Kapadia, Martin B. Leon, Brian Lima, Bruce W. Lytle, Michael J. Mack,
Michael Reardon, T. Brett Reece, G. Russell Reiss, Eric E. Roselli, Craig R. Smith,
Vinod H. Thourani, E. Murat Tuzcu, John Webb and Mathew R. Williams
Ann Thorac Surg 2013;95:1-66
DOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2013.01.083
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